When Belief Shapes Reality, v2
by Persnikitty
Summary: An isolated and uneducated child surprises the Kyuubi with mastery of his mindscape, and then some. AU, with some Canon parallels.
1. Oathbound

Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Kishimoto Masashi.

Though not grammatically correct, thoughts and inflection will be _italicized_. Likewise, supernatural entities will be in **bold font**, with _**italics**_ for thoughts, to assist the reader. Scene breaks are binary for Naruto, in the vain hope that FF doesn't break them again.

This story began 11/01/08, when I was still learning how to write fanfiction. In the years since, I've improved just enough to see how messy the first version of this story was, hence the edit.

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He was blond, looked to be three or four years of age, and was restlessly tossing in his sleep. The twin shadows in his meager apartment would have been very interested in knowing where he was sleeping, which was two floors down and three apartments over.

The manager had been _silenced_ the prior year, after a month or so of Naruto's residency. The boy had been there once it was discovered he had been kicked out of the last in a long line of orphanages and had been living out of dumpsters and alleys for most of his fourth year.

The other residents had long since moved out except for one belligerent old lady who had passed away somewhat recently when her heart suddenly failed.

Part of the reason for that was the blond creature, of her highly vocal scorn, had shown up at her door with a fist full of field flowers and a pleading yet tired expression. He had seen others in the village give flowers to appease angry women, and since this woman was always angry, Naruto had spent hours scouring training fields and private gardens for his 'peace' selection.

She flew into an apoplectic conniption fit at the demon on her doorstep then paused as her left arm contorted painfully while her right fist gripped her chest. Strangely silent, she toppled backwards, going from vertical to horizontal in one smooth motion.

Young Uzumaki Naruto believed that he was the reason she was dead since she had been alive and well prior to his knocking; he had killed her and the scene wracked his young brain with guilt and nightmares filled with ominously dark yet muffled laughter.

It had taken him several days to move her: he was five and a half (neglect and malnutrition would stunt anyone's growth) and she was dead-weight. He could only work after the summer sun had gone down, and by the second night, she was already turning ripe, not to mention the miasmic stew of her bodily excretions.

The experience was, in a word, vile.

Such an event can be quite a shock to the system, especially for an empathic five and a half year old. Being verbally abused, then having the abuser up and die, then having to move the former abuser out of the apartment before the stench of decay fouled up the rest of the complex could only create a complex.

Once that scent got in the cheap stucco and sheet rock, it would never come out. But such a shock led to his current situation. He knew his body was physically away from his apartment.

He had acquired the habit of not sleeping in the same room twice in a row; right now, however, where he was sleeping was not a concern. What was a concern was his current location: a sewer with shin-deep water (at least on him) lit by an odd bluish-reddish-purplish glow pierced with the occasional harsh whitish-yellow overhead lamp.

They buzzed disconcertingly.

Luckily, the latter were only over intersections, as the brightly odd light washed out his skin and hurt his eyes, even as the strange hum of the lights put his teeth on edge. Having nothing else to do and not really knowing how to leave this place, since he wasn't completely sure where he was, he set off in what he hoped was a promising direction.

He didn't know that every path in this place all led to one destination: the Cage.

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**"Look at you, insect, a pathetic creature of meat and bone panting and sweating as you run through my corridors."***

Naruto ran pell-mell through the flooded halls, his young heart pumping as the words echoed around him. The harsh overhead lights would occasionally flicker, to no discernible rhythm.

They buzzed disconcertingly.

Entering a large hall, the ceiling lost in darkness, he skidded to a halt. His skin prickled, feeling very exposed as he nervously began walking down the center of the massive floor. The shadowy walls were even less inviting.

Cautiously he crept forward, he sensitive ears catching the sound of breathing. From this distance, he knew whatever it was, it would be huge. He was not to be disappointed as when he was not a hundred feet distant, two ruby slits opened some eighty feet in the air. He felt the air displacement as tails of fire ignited behind it.

The crawling, flickering flames back-lit the monstrous creature. It slowly lowered its head and made a show of sniffing the air, the suction nearly sweeping Naruto off his feet. And then the creature chuckled, the booming sound echoing across the otherwise empty chamber.

**"You **_**move**_** like an insect. You **_**think**_** like an insect. You **_**are**_** an insect.***

**"I was not expecting you this early, though perhaps this is for the best."** A huge vulpine grin split the darkness showing blindingly white and very sharp teeth.

Naruto's eyes widened and his face paled under the onslaught of such raw and evil power. His heart beat an erratic tempo within his chest, lungs straining for air. He didn't even feel his bladder release.

Nothing compared to the sheer power sleeting past him, not even Dog-san's invisible glare.

The acrid scent wasted no time in reaching the shadowed behemoth and it guffawed in derisive glee.

**"This is my jailer? A bed wetting hairless house ape and a puny one at that. If I had any shame, I would be deeply embarrassed by your mere proximity, _insect_."**

It paused for a moment. **"I should eat you now and save both of us from your putrid existence."**

Struggling under the pressure, Naruto raised his head, eyes hard. His lips twitched, but he stayed strangely silent; however, that didn't mean his mind wasn't shuffling through images.

**"Furball?! You think I'm a furball?! I'll have you know, meatbag, that I am the mighty Kyuubi, Nine-Tailed Demon Lord, God of Kitsunes and Vulpines!"**

Despite the threats, Kyuubi was still solidly imprisoned, the Cage's seal powered not only by Minato's skill, but also the contract with the Death God.

A wickedly delicious thought ran through his head: if he could mentally break his jailer, not only would he gain eventual freedom, but would have a possessed minion to wreck his havoc on the fools which imprisoned him.

Shape shifting was second nature to a kitsune, especially for their ruler. The true identity of his jailer, the important people in his young life and every single memory from the instant of sealing, all of this was known. Kyuubi knew which buttons to push and if all worked out as planned, this pathetic anthill would be looking for a new ruler by week's end, if not fleeing the flames of righteous fury as their precious village fed his hunger and lit the night sky.

Suddenly, to Naruto's eyes, the gigantic fox with nine flaming tails vanished. In its place was a tall blond man in a jounin outfit wearing a white cloak with flame patterns rising from the hem.

This man was known from stories and pictures: his hero, the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato.

"Son, I am extremely disappointed in you."

Naruto fell backwards, surprised at finding himself so close to the Cage, now not ten feet distant. The words, coupled with the image of his hero, made it even harder to breathe.

_'Wait, did he say 'son'?'_

"I know this comes as a shock, my son...I am your father, Naruto. To save this village, and to give it a weapon, a mighty demon was sealed into my own child.

"The reason for all the hate, all the attacks, all the abuse was because of me. You don't actually think I would use just anyone for this, do you?

"You were supposed to be seen as a hero, not the demon itself. Even in this, my first and only child, you could not be trusted.

"You have shamed myself and your ancestors, and I finally see the mistake in selecting you for this duty. Even now, your mother's dead kin, indeed her entire broken village, weeps.

"Come, there is no reason for you to carry this burden any longer. Perhaps, in time, another will be found who will not tarnish our name."

Jerkily, Naruto stood, his eyes shadowed. When he lifted his head, his face was drawn in pure anger. This was not wholly by what was said; the mind can be deceptively quick and some things simply rang true. Rational reasons for the village's general treatment towards himself were assimilated.

However, the remarks of Naruto somehow being a blood relative to Konoha's greatest leader were too farfetched for his young mind to wrap around.

No, what angered him was not the words, but the _person _saying them. He knew that wasn't really Namikaze Minato standing there. The Fourth Hokage had died almost six years ago and was buried in a large shrine.

If anyone knew that, it was Naruto since he was once trapped within the secret crypt beneath the shrine for several days so that he could 'understand just who he had stolen from the village'.

He was angry at the demon who mocked him, using his desire for family combined with the physical image of Konoha's greatest hero, her sacrificial Hokage, and his own personal inspiration. Naruto knew who was really inside the cage as his trembling finger pointed at the figure inside.

Minato/Kyuubi watched the mental collapse with barely repressed glee as the bars of his great cage started to crack and fade. And then suddenly, his transformation failed.

From out of the shadows, ten thick chains homed in on the exposed Kyuubi, wrapping themselves around each tail and his neck.

He quickly began to shrink, now no larger than a horse, and was being forced into even smaller shapes. The size change was so rapid and drastic that an actual thunderclap resounded from the air rushing in to fill the sudden vacuum.

Then he felt it: something clicked around his neck. Immediately after, he heard it, the simple chime of a single bell, just below his jaw.

_**'Perhaps a mistake was made.'**_

Within seconds, he went from a gigantic fox demon to a year-old actual fox kit, barely eight inches at the shoulder. Each of his nine tails were secured by chains attached to his belled and leashed the seal-marked collar.

The once massive cage which once filled the chamber's end, all the way to the distant ceiling, was now a three meter pole with a similar length of slack chain around its base connecting him to it.

With mounting trepidation, the once mighty Kyuubi watched as Naruto slowly walked towards him on anger stiffened legs. He virtually stalked-stomped up the fox, picked up the Demon Lord by the scruff of his neck, brought him up to eye level, and then did something the millennium-old demon never expected.

Naruto scowled, licked two fingers, then gave a fierce stinging slap across the fox's nose. The sound echoed through the chamber; unbidden tears welled up in the demon's eyes.

_**'That actually hurt...a lot. Oh hells no!' **_Kyuubi began to struggle, thinking to slip out of Naruto's grip and regain dominance when he heard it: the Growl. Not just any growl, but the Growl.

This was command from all Alphas to obey without question and to know ones place. It started in Naruto's throat and went straight to a small place in Kyuubi's brain, then flicked the switch repeatedly.

Before Kyuubi could understand what was going on, he found himself on his back, his belly exposed, crimson eyes locked on Naruto's ice-cold blue ones. Naruto's left had was around Kyuubi's throat and his growl was in the Kyuubi's head. He began to feel something he had only seen in others: fear.

"Bad! Fox!" Naruto leaned in closer, growling the entire time. Those were the first words Naruto had spoken to the fox, the first he had spoken at all, his voice cracked and dusty from disuse.

He scowled in aggravation, unable to put his thoughts into words, so he did the next best thing. He glared as hard as he could into the fox's eyes and pictured in his mind just what he would do to the creature if it ever did something like that again.

Nonsense words were croaked aloud. They might have well been an entreaty towards the Elder Gods for all the sense they made. He smacked the fox across the nose again for emphasis.

Unbeknownst to Naruto, but easily visible to the writhing fox, the boy's images were playing themselves out on the walls and ceiling, creating vast panoramas of torture and promised pain. The child's croaked verbiage only added to the unease. It was time to lie, wheedle and beg; time to bargain.

The chains, which so reminded the fox of his previous host, not only bound, but also removed much of his power. As he was now, even the simplest of illusions was beyond him. This needed to be rectified.

**"This one,"** began Kyuubi, adopting a feigned submissive posture, which meant relaxing his body under the boy's grip. **"This one apologizes. I really had no idea you would react so violently to a simple illusion.**

**"We kitsunes are masters at illusions and shape-shifting. Restore my rightful power to me, and I will aid you. I will give you all which your heart desires. I will grant all your deepest and darkest wishes. I will bestow my race's blessings and gifts."**

He could see the boy's features smoothing. **"Forgive and restore me and I will be yours to command."** His hooded eyes seemed to close, observing the boy and waiting for the chance to strike back.

Kyuubi left off the fact that Kitsunes are also pranksters and masters of the deal. He had no intention at all of honoring anything. Being a Demon Lord, he should have remembered, but was confident a reversal of fortune was imminent.

Naruto's next words would stop him cold, breaking his hubris.

"Promise?"

The boy got a firm nod, the creature's eyes still closed.

Naruto growled deeply and croaked out, "Speak promise!"

**"Do you doubt me, human?" **Kyuubi opened his eyes, adopting a stricken expression.

If at all possible, Naruto's eyes got a touch colder as they narrowed. "Demon! Demon speak promise brat!"

Though crude, the Kyuubi understood the message and intent. That said, the boy had not actually vocalized anything meaningful. Images were one thing, but words were another.

Naruto, not understanding the pause, did something he had seen others do to animals he had touched. Given his age and isolation, he really didn't understand, not completely.

His right hand grabbed hold of the rear legs, and with his left hand around the fox's neck, he pulled them apart. He lacked the strength to pop off the head, unlike the others which he had tried to befriend.

Kyuubi, for his part, finally gave into panic, having seen behind Naruto the memories replayed, and the boy's intent.

The thing is, there had not been enough time to reverse bind them. Kyuubi knew if Naruto died, then he died. If Naruto had naturally come to rely on the Kyuubi's purified power, as he would eventually as more of it filtered into Naruto's own chakra system, then if Kyuubi died or was forcefully removed Naruto would die as well.

That had been part of Kyuubi's long term plans so Naruto would lose some crucial bargaining chips, if it ever came to deal-making, but such integration and unconscious reliance wouldn't have started for several more years.

The boy had shown up too soon.

If anything, the amount of their combination and genetic mutations to date would merely shorten Naruto's expected life span by about a decade, maybe fifteen years at most.

The changes to Naruto's cellular regeneration were already done and set, so if Kyuubi were to vanish, Naruto would keep those, as well as his enhanced senses. The loss of Kyuubi's chakra would cripple Naruto for a while as his own coils would collapse before rebuilding, and he would lose the almost instant healing.

He would still heal faster than the average person, have less scarring, be highly resistant to poisons and other toxins and have an almost total immunity to disease.

If Kyuubi was to die now, Naruto would only be mildly inconvenienced, given all which the boy would retain. The demon felt Naruto ready for another attempt, and could do nothing to physically fight back.

His hubris had brought him low. The boy had stated a condition, which had yet to be fulfilled. In the end, the words didn't matter at all, but the intent behind the broken speech.

That said, there was a part of Kyuubi, the analytical side, which was impressed, just a bit, with the boy's spatial manipulation. In his natural state, Kyuubi was not a small thing, and yet...and yet now, he was.

If he managed to survive this bungled confrontation, he would think more on it. Perhaps, if the words were said, one hand could wash the other. Then there might be time to try something else, some other way to escape this prison.

Despite being a force of nature and chaos incarnate, the fox was pragmatic. One didn't rise from a no-tail to nine-tail from blindly rushing into things.

The thing is, there was his pride. It was great and terrible, having been built up over eons. On the other hand, this child was earnestly trying to pop off his head.

If the boy ever realized that his intent could shape this place, then Kyuubi would be killed and given up to the Shinigami for eternity. He would no longer reform, would no longer fulfill his duties, would never again roam free.

With a sigh of defeat, tinged heavily with shame, Kyuubi spoke. "I, Kurama, so swear upon my honor as the Kyuubi no Kitsune, Nine-Tailed Demon Lord."

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**A/N: modified SHODAN quote from SS1, Looking Glass Studios, 1994.**

**A/N: modified SHODAN quote from SS2, Looking Glass Studios, 1999.**


	2. A Safe Place

Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Kishimoto Masashi.

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The images and growl subsided in their intensity, though Naruto's hand remained loosely on the fox's neck, only to trail down and gently rub the Kyuubi's chest and belly. For his own part, Naruto was deep in thought and the images around him, though he himself was oblivious, gave the kitling Kyuubi food for thought.

As for Kurama, in contrast he was having difficulty thinking. He hadn't had even a halfway decent belly rub in millions of years.

Quite aside from that, this was the first time he had actually 'looked' at his warden. His mind was sharp and powerful, despite its disuse, that much Kurama could deduce from his own much reduced state, something which should have been impossible.

Then there was the vibrant images, some even having realistic detailing and motions, almost like a moving picture. He saw played out Naruto's memories, the current ones dealing with the few 'pets' Naruto either once had or had wanted. Every single last one, even the puppy Naruto had pet only once, had been ruthlessly tracked down and killed to keep the 'demon brat's' taint from spreading.

Add to that Naruto's almost casual attempt to remove Kurama's head from the rest of his body, and you had a mass murderer in the making. He had learned through observation, without any instruction on the whys, aside from preventing demonic taint.

That made Kyuubi angry, for not only was he a force of nature, nor the elemental guardian of Fire Country, but he was also made of nature, or rather, a combination of elemental and natural chakra and thus had connections to all things in nature, including its denizens.

Normally, Kurama wouldn't have cared about any humans which got caught up (them being rather numerous and noisy), unless the boy began to worship Jashin. But now, his own self was on the line, and if the boy became an amoral butcher, even Kurama would not be safe. So, to save himself, other things would have to be preserved as well.

So, aside from some ethical groundwork, all in the name of self-preservation, Kurama had yet another hindrance. The moment he gave his word, he had been branded by the Oath Seal upon his forehead.

Given the fake promises stated, now made very real, Kurama was only now realizing how greatly he had screwed himself. Moving against the boy now would be difficult to say the least.

It was something to ponder later, as currently it was proving difficult to focus. Aside from the belly rub, there was a strong urging to teach the boy. Kurama knew, from his long history, that if promises were made and not kept, one under the Oath Seal would, in short order, be driven mad.

Like it or not, Kurama was now Naruto's to command, and the boy yearned to learn a great many things.

**"Boy, as nice as that feels, I need you to stop. You may still stroke my back, but not my belly. At least, not for now. If you are a good boy, I might let you later. As I have said, I am Kurama. What is your name?"**

The boy did as he asked, looking somewhat embarrassed as he left off the belly rubbing and started the back scratching beneath the curled up nine tails bound to the seal marked collar.

The question made him scowl a bit though and it was clear that he was a bit hesitant or unsure in speaking. "Na..na..la...ra..," his rusty voice faded out as his face knit in concentration.

Feeling his host's frustration, Kurama quickly scanned the boy's memories and found a name that might fit. **"Uzumaki Naruto. Is that your name?"**

A quick nod, coupled with bright blue eyes and very quick but honest smile, confirmed the identity. The boy seemed almost happy at being...acknowledged? When asked about his speech, the boy ceased his petting and looked ashamed.

Kurama once again sorted through memories and found that though the Hokage had assigned tutors to the boy to teach him to read and write, none of them had. Instead, the child had been beaten, with promises of more pain if he said anything. Knowledge is power, after all, and the last thing they wanted the 'demon brat' to have was power.

Naruto's very limited vocabulary seems to have been picked up from hurled insults and things heard on the street, but not from anything painted on his walls. Those weird markings only confused the boy.

With a mental sigh, Kurama knew he would need to start almost from Square One as the boy obviously did not know even the basics of reading.

**"Boy, Naruto, I need to show you something. This is what is called a storage scroll." **A scroll appeared and unrolled itself. **"You may not know this but there is a kunai sealed inside the scroll." The symbol for kunai appeared within a seal-marked circle.**

**"Note the condition of the scroll. It has been torn and sloppily repaired with glue, tape and staples. It is ragged and stained, obviously poorly maintained. Water and mud marks abound, signifying it has been left in the elements before without care. The seals have been hastily and sloppily drawn.**

**"It would takes an overuse of chakra, most of which would be wasted, to even activate the seal to release the stored kunai. That's how poorly the seal has been constructed. Now, considering all this, what kind of condition would you expect the kunai to be in given the state of the storage scroll?"**

Naruto frowned in thought as his lips tried to form his thoughts, vividly portrayed behind him. Kurama saw pitted and rusted metal, blunted edges, a stained and chipped blade and corrosion. He nodded with an internal grin.

**"I gather from your thoughts, and yes, I can see your thoughts," **Kurama couldn't help but grin at the look of awe that remark garnered. It wasn't a pleasant grin, but Naruto didn't know that truth.

He continued, **"You would think that the kunai would be in very poor condition, yes? Even if it wasn't, that would be your thoughts, and honestly, most anyone else's first thought as well. There is a reason behind this example, Naruto.**

**"You are the scroll, while I am the kunai..."**

Anything else he might have said quickly fled as he felt the pure oppression of someone having taken one too many insults deciding enough was enough. Hastily, the Seal increasing his pain, he squeaked out, **"Not an insult!"**

The oppression lifted, somewhat, and the pain eased, which meant Kurama could breathe again. **"It was not an insult, but observation. You have been mistreated and malnourished. You have been left to fend for yourself in the wild."**

Gauging the boy's response, and steeling himself for any backlash, he forged ahead. **"I am indeed sealed within you. I am the kunai. And how others perceive you is how they will perceive me, and I do not mean those petty villagers but other beings.**

**"I shall not be seen as weak or ignorant. I shall not be the blunted and corroded kunai sealed within a damaged storage soul. If I am to be sealed inside of you, then you will be powerful in all senses. If no other will teach you, then I shall, for I will NOT be seen as weak just because you are."**

This was all bluster, for now, thanks to Kurama's promises, he was compelled to teach his new Master. He had been yoked by several humans in the past, even recently. This was the first time he had knotted his own leash, however.

He continued his rationalization. **"Besides, the way this prison has been designed, if you die I die, so it is my own best interest to keep you alive. However, I will require you to keep your end of the bargain and restore unto me my power."**

He kept his metaphorical paws crossed, just in case, and breathed a silent sign of relief when the chains tethering his tails to his collar dissolved, yet his size didn't change. When he cleared his throat, Naruto looked askance and resumed stroking Kurama's back.

"No pet pet?" Odd as it sounded, the boy who commanded his mind space with such ease seemed to shrink upon himself, the vast room around him growing darker and claustrophobic. Fear, the boy was fearing something.

**"Do as I say and offer no complaints and I will allow you to 'pet pet'. During our teaching, you will call me Kurama-sensei and even if you disagree with me, you will show me respect. Is that understood, kitling?"**

There was a suddenly emotive child holding him, complete with bright eyes and a watery smile. The vast chamber brightened, and the ceiling, which Kurama had never seen before, was a vibrant blue with animal-shaped clouds.

He could tell the boy didn't have the words or even the images. Instead there were quick flashes of color with the occasional image of a steaming ramen bowl or the smile of an old wrinkled man smoking a pipe.

**'The boy is happy? Hrm, perhaps this won't be so bad after all. Provided I dangle enough carrots, or bowls of ramen as the case may be, before the boy, he may yet be manipulated into doing my will.'**

There was a twinge from the seal which caused him pause. **'So long as that blasted seal doesn't think I'm breaking my word, that is.'**

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After about thirty minutes were spent on correcting Naruto calling Kurama 'Kurama-shinshee', the fox allowed Naruto 'pet pet' time so the boy's mind could be examined while relatively relaxed.

It was vastly underused.

Though the fox had passing familiarity with how much brain power was actually used compared to brain mass, wistfully remembering bygone experiments which eventually drove his test subjects insane from overload, he found Naruto used even less for 'higher functions', roughly two percent.

Another five percent wasn't labeled but had all the markings of being purely survival instinct. There were some memories, though scant few could even remotely be called pleasurable and far too many blank spots for Kurama's liking.

Those spoke of brain injury at some point, and further probing revealed each to be head trauma which led to a brief black-out period. Some of the more brutal memories weren't of adults, but of children, some around Naruto's age, lynching him while their approving parents waited in the background.

From what he could tell, there was a shinobi teaching the children how to make a rope, along with useful knots for tying up a person. Naruto had been trussed, hoisted, and beaten by his peers.

Kurama was able to cross reference some of the children to a brief period of hope and wariness some days prior to each incident. The boy was far too trusting, running headlong into traps out of desperation for some sort of social contact.

Kurama blinked in his observations.

If it weren't for the absolute rarity and absurdity of the shared tint, Kurama would have written off the pink as a prank, fluke or failed fashion statement, yet there they were, three generations of pink haired females either instigating or participating in what Kurama could only surmise as attempted social climbing.

He would keep an eye out for them, since Kami knew he didn't need more blank spots after teaching the boy his letters and numbers. That would be so much wasted effort, and he would be compelled to begin instruction anew.

Being five and a half, not to mention the lifestyle and livelihood of the boy, sorting through memories and probing issues went rather quickly. Now all that was left was optimization and possibly data dumping.

It was said that the best time to teach a person anything was prior to age ten, preferably under five. The brain was still growing during that time, and new neural pathways were much easier to construct, especially compared to adults.

Though even if bestowed with a full linguistics catalogue of every living and dead language to ever exist, Naruto would still need to develop the facial and throat muscles, as well as nasal and breathing control for each one. Writing them would mean even more training for the muscle memory and coordination each style required.

Also, associations would need to be developed to give each word and name a meaning, or meanings if there were multiple interpretations based on context, inflection or intent. Otherwise it would be nothing but meaningless babble, a collection of guttural hoots and sibilant murmurs.

That all said, a data dump would at least put the information in place, and once past basal, instinctual and higher processes, there was still a large percentage of unused brain space, even considering mental backups. Might as well put it to good use.

**"Naruto, may I call you kit? A kit is a young fox, much like my current form."** There was an undercurrent of displeasure, followed by a sudden grimace of pain, all of which was missed by Naruto.

**"I only ask since you have earned my respect for the time being due to how you changed your mental space." **He got a nod from the boy, who continued stroking his fur from neck to tails, and despite the mean and tough image the Kyuubi had cultivated, he had to admit that it felt pretty good.

Perhaps he could stay in this size for a while, well, if the boy allowed him any size options that is. **"Kit, I am going to help you, though it may seem painful at first. Trust in my promise to you that such is meant only for your benefit. I will be enhancing your mind.**

**"This will help to undo some of the damage your so-called tutors have implemented. Implemented means 'have done to'. I will be placing some of my own memories into your mind dealing with language, mathematics and writing, as well as some social and homemaking skills I've gleaned over the ages. Since you are living by yourself you will need to learn to do things by yourself and for yourself."**

Kurama calmed himself and steadied his voice. **"Normally, I wouldn't care nor concern myself, but it would appear that we are in this together, for better or worse. To pass the time and to prepare you to not be so weak, I will teach you and you will learn, willing or not."**

He paused as the bluster was absorbed. **"Before we begin though, I am curious. I understand that you are able to change your mindscape. I wonder though, can you change it to anything? For instance, can you show a safe place?"**

Kurama purposely chose the simplest of wordings so the boy could understand with the least effort. He got a nod and the vast hall became green, almost literally.

Trees which did not normally grow together did here. There were giant redwoods, oaks, pines, firs and dogwood. There was a misty bog with mangrove and cedar. There were ferns, moss and lichen covered boulders. Animal paths and trails dotted the leaf-strewn floor, highlighted by filtered and scattered light beams.

Grayish squirrels chattered on limbs, there was the flash of rabbit ears in the undergrowth; a bass leapt and made concentric rings by a half-submerged root bulb. The bright blue sky held slow moving clouds, all shaped as various animals. Even though Kurama knew this was a mindscape, he could hear the veritable hum and thrum of life.

His yang, or nature part, pulsed in response.

Kurama was, quite simply, amazed. If he was not burdened with the truth and his subjective reality, he would have thought that he was back in the northern forests.

**"I am proud of you." **He let those words slip out, as an experiment.

The forest floor exploded in light and color, from sunlight dapplings in warm shades to brilliant hues on flutterbys and dragonflies and temperate birds, the ones that Naruto had actually seen. Even the robin's head seemed more vibrant and dark green that was natural.

He smiled quietly to himself, once recomposed. He hadn't meant to say anything, but now knew that the best weapon to ensure Naruto's compliance was nothing more than simple praise. That would be a secret most guarded.

He wasn't _free_ by any stretch, but it did appear that he had more range of motion than prior. The seal which once held the mighty cage doors shut still existed in the form of the collar around his neck, complete with bell.

The vast trees which surrounded them formed the 'bars', which by sending his senses outwards meant the confines of this...there was no room anymore. When the cage was still here, it was large enough for Kurama to fully stand and move around, which meant the walls were at least four hundred feet high, though he had never seen the ceiling.

Now though, despite Kurama being small enough to curl up on Naruto's lap, the very scale of this place was impossible. He briefly experienced a bout of vertigo, as if he was floating upon a very deep sea.

There was also the issue of gravity: it did and did not exist here. Yes, if he jumped he would land as if he were in the actual world, but the downward forces of gravity did not prevent trees from reaching incredible heights.

Even when the Senju clan created the massive forests in Fire Country, where once there was grassy plains, though the trunks were often rather wide and dense, the trees rarely rose higher than fifty or sixty feet. He used to tower above them.

In here, the tops, even the middle sections were hidden in the bluish distance and wisping fog.

And high, so very high above, fluffy animal clouds moved slowly across a deep blue sky, wherever the massive boles permitted.

There was a deep rumble off to the side as a slab of mossy rock buckled in the center before rising, forming a low range of rocky hills and caves that looked as if they had been here before the first sapling ever broke through the soil.

Though he had yoked himself, he could definitely think of worse places to be forced to spend time. And if this was what the boy thought of as a 'safe place', he knew of worse places as well.


	3. When Levees Fail

Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Kishimoto Masashi.

* * *

For the following week, whether awake or sleeping, Naruto received instruction following the initial data dump and mental filing, courtesy of his new sensei. It was quickly discerned by Kurama that Naruto, despite his age and isolation, was a natural multitasker.

Granted, the boy couldn't do anything too complex, but he could go through his simple numbers on one mental thread, while using another for thought words with accompanying mental image while subconsciously spelling each one.

Those internal tasks were done while feeling for and getting a sense of his own chakra, Kurama's chakra, and the subtle blending of the two. On the outside, Naruto was learning how to tie and untie knots of basic to intermediate level.

"Der..tha tha," he quickly nodded, "tha-air, there is more tha-an, than, da tha-at, that inside." He became silent but Kurama could see the boy was working on his sentence. "There is more th-than that inside. The chakra is."

**"Very good, Naruto."** A warm wind slid through the trees. **"Remember, and this is important: to keep our secret, think your words. In private, such as now, you may speak aloud.**

**"I would urge you, however, to learn how to mentally speak. I can hear you just fine when you think your words, so just remember to use your 'inside' voice."**

"Hai, sensei." He could practically feel the boy raising his left hand to scratch behind his head, a sure sign of embarrassment.

**"Now, about this chakra, can you explain it a bit more?"**

Naruto paused while he collected his thoughts. "I feel mine, yours, ours? (mental nod) ours and then like mine but not. Different? (another nod) than mine but like. Feels like outside."

**"Outside?"**

Naruto held the length of rope in one hand absently as he brought both together in a scooping motion, like he was gathering water or leaves. "Outside."

_**'He must be sensing an elemental chakra stream. I am starting to like this child more and more.'**_

**"I understand what you mean, kit. We will look into that at a later time, once you are able to fully sense and draw upon your chakra and gain some level of control over it."**

He paused. **"As for now, it seems to be time for another lesson and I can sense several people approaching. Now don't worry, I will be here with you and will heal your wounds. Take their beatings as a lesson in pain and learn to adapt.**

**"When you become a shinobi there will be times you will be in pain. How you react to the pain can be the factor between life or death. Only a few actually bother to learn this skill before getting hurt, so in this sense, consider yourself at the front of the pack. I will ensure they do not go too far, little kit."**

Though Kurama knew there to be other possible professions for the boy, given his true lineage and ties to the current Hokage, he would become a shinobi. Gleaning the memories of being read 'inspirational' children stories by the aged ape, Naruto never had a chance at becoming anything else.

Naruto felt something out of the window and turned to see Dog-san on the opposite roof. Though the face was covered in a mask, Naruto could still sense the hate. In the time it took to slowly blink, his door was kicked in and everything went dark.

This incident was far from the first time.

When he would awake, surprisingly in his heavily forested mindscape, it would be to a rather intense fox who drilled him on everything he had learned thus far for hours, only pausing for new instruction once Kurama was satisfied there was no data loss from the blunt force trauma.

The fox really did not want to have to go over everything again. Just filling in the gaps would not do, and Kurama would be driven insane if no action was taken.

Naruto would even learn a new word when he was jolted awake, finding himself carried in a sheet like a sling between two white and blue clad people. He was unceremoniously dumped out the back door and into an alley behind a rather large building, reeking of misery.

He would develop a life-long association between the word 'hospital' and sterile white, needles and pain.

01001110 01100001 01110010 01110101 01110100 01101111

It was the end of the month, also known as Day, it being the time when Naruto would be escorted to the Hokage Tower and would spend the day getting physical and mental examinations, as well as a discrete seal scan, afterwards spending the rest of the day in the company of the Hokage.

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked forward to these times as Naruto was good, if quiet company, and would always listen attentively to the stories the old man would tell him of bygone village life, distant battles, and the tales of the village's own heroes.

Though it was subtle manipulation, it really wasn't intended in this case. He simply wanted to give Naruto positive impressions of the parents he would not be allowed to know. His stories of heroes were always of Minato and Kushina, though not by name.

Sarutobi himself was a rarity among shinobi, having survived more than sixty years. He was shaped by war. That said, he was also loved by most of the village. Having been their Hokage for the majority of his life, he had become adept at blending humanity and brutality in his public speeches, the Hyuuga Incident aside.

Naruto's visit was a welcome break from the drudgery of paperwork, not that Sarutobi minded all that much, it keeping him from thinking of darker things, but even he had limits.

What was testing his limits even more were the reports on his desk regarding a security detail. Those were by his left hand.

By his right hand were hospital logs, with entries describing the object of the security detail and the physical state of the subject at the time of initial observation. They were bound by dates and times, with the logs having times within the allotted shift of the security detail.

Conspicuously absent from the detail's end-of-shift (EOS) report was any mention of the hospital, even in passing, as in, 'en route, we passed by the hospital'; the word seemed almost taboo.

Following Naruto's routine checkup and their Visitation Day (Naruto would be learning the V word soon), he might have some extra work for the Office of Special Affairs (OSA), a branch of the Intelligence Division.

Speaking of Naruto, he was running uncharacteristically late.

Normally, the boy was at his door by 06:00, and here it was approaching 08:00. In a moment of whimsy, he hoped having Hatake being the leader of the security detail wasn't rubbing off on the boy.

'Dog-san' had an almost international reputation for not just being the sole non-Uchiha to possess the Sharingan (eye, not the actual bloodlimit). He had also gained the title of Copycat Kakashi for having stolen over a thousand techniques - most of which he would later place in the Shinobi Library for a fee - as well as the fact that he had graduated the Academy at age six.

The icing on the proverbial cake was that he had, as his mentor, the legendary Yellow Flash and Iwa-Bane, Namikaze Minato. That was before Minato became the Fourth Hokage and defeater of the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

No, what Hatake was very well known for, despite his personal and professional pedigree, was his knack of showing up to any scheduled meeting at least two hours late, regardless of importance.

The reason behind this behavior eluded the aged Third Hokage, now pulling his second shift in this position. No matter, the fact remained that young Naruto was very late. He was about to summon one of his special trackers when there was a knock at the door.

Upon verbal consent, the door quickly opened and closed, shutting off the tirade of Sarutobi's latest secretary, apparently centered upon the small child on the jounin's back.

He would make a replacement request to another secretarial temporary agency in the morning, as he would be without a secretary for the rest of the day. He barely murmured a name before a large bear of a man, dressed in complete black, including a head wrap, appeared in a kneeling position.

"Your will, Hokage-sama?"

"We have a situation which needs remedy. A lawbreaker in the hallway. Female, five-three, behind a desk."

"Hai." And with that one word, the man was gone, followed shortly by an undignified squawk which was heard through the thick office door and heavily insulated walls.

"Kurenai." Again, barely a whisper.

In a graceful swirl of color - white, red and black - a red-eyed vision of beauty appeared, kneeling before the Hokage's desk. Her left arm was bare, while her right was clothed in crimson, drawing the eye. The rest was a white herringbone pattern with the peaks pointing upwards to her eyes, the same shade as her right arm.

"Your will, Hokage-sama?"

"Personal Assistant to the office of Hokage, providing both clerical and physical assistance when needed. C-rank, duration pending relief. You may begin now."

"Hai." The lady called Kurenai vanished in a swirl, but Naruto could still sense her about ten feet from the door. It was strange, this knowing where people were.

"That issue is resolved, but a puzzle still remains. Tell me Ocelot, why it is that young Naruto-kun is two hours late?"

Ocelot carefully set her charge down and placed a hand on his shoulder, studiously ignoring the flinch, as she bowed her head. "My apologies, Hokage-sama. Uzumaki-kun was not at the designated location, and it took longer than I anticipated to locate him. I take full responsibility for our tardiness."

"Be at ease. My own mind would be at ease if you were to explain to me why it was that Naruto-kun was not at his apartment? I have here in this report that he was at his residence for the full duration of the security detail."

He made no mention of the hospital log. Ocelot shifted a foot, uncharacteristic for a trained ANBU, while Naruto looked...he switched between guilty and embarrassed. Ocelot had her hand on his left shoulder, but his left hand twitched upwards.

"Hokage-sama, once it was determined through visual inspection and chakral detection that Uzumaki-kun was absent, I quickly called in a favor in one Mitarashi-san, and with her summons we easily picked up the trail.

"It led first to his apartment, then to other apartments within the complex, all vacant, then to the hospital's front entry, followed by its alley exits, and from there it got confusing. There were too many recent scents.

"We both kept moving until we picked up his trail again. We found him at the Memorial Stone by the Bridge of Falling Blossoms. I humbly submit to your will and do ask, unbidden, that Mitarashi-san's willingness, dedication and care be duly noted."

"Again, be at ease, and a job well done. Both records will be updated with a completion of an A-ranked Search and Rescue operation and paid accordingly."

Though her face was covered due to Naruto's attendance, Sarutobi knew from her body language that she was surprised.

He paused in brief thought. "All the other units were vacant, you said?" Ocelot gave a firm nod. He filed that thought away for later.

"Had he been kidnapped or been either driven or led to a pickup location, he would be gone to us. Instead of reporting that he could not be found, you went the extra mile to find him, even calling in personal favors to ensure the mission's completion."

He oriented on her charge. "And yes, Naruto-kun you are that important both to me and this village, though it doesn't treat you nearly as well as it should."

01001110 01100001 01110010 01110101 01110100 01101111

At that simple proclamation, Kurama witnessed a patch of trees and undergrowth rapidly sink into the ground within Naruto's mindscape, creating a round field two acres in size. The sound had been deafening.

Quicker than thought, flowers of all colors burst through the soil in a veritable rainbow of hues. The fragrance was almost overwhelming, but not offensively so, just rather sudden. Almost as quickly, several swarms of bees descended, adding their own unique hum to the symphony of life.

This was all from simple acknowledgement.

Kurama knew there were multiple ways to harness such power for his own devices, but none thus far which would not set off the seal. It had gotten to where Kurama even had to think very carefully to avoid oath-bound backlash.

Muscles spasmed, and patches of fur were slowly regrowing, the damage caused by the seal activating. His only solace was that there were no witnesses as he struggled through his thoughts.

01001110 01100001 01110010 01110101 01110100 01101111

Naruto was enjoying a bowl of delivered ramen with his Ojii-san thinking about his day. By comparison, it had been busy, and wasn't even half over.

There had been lessons, warning, Dog-san's invisible glare, ambush, mental review, alley dumping behind the hospital, and then getting chased by a group who seemed to have been waiting for him.

How else could one explain the strong scents of coffee and glazed donuts in an alley of all places?

That had led to a chase of sorts. Not really even that now that he thought about it. Despite the mob members being older, taller and faster than his own underfed five year old self, he was never overtaken or tackled. It was almost like he was being herded, a tactic (new word) he learned from Kurama-sensei's 'data dump'.

Once he reached the Memorial Stone, he was alone, his pursuers having seemingly vanished. He understood, on a gut level, that many of the markings on the plinth were names of those killed during the Kyuubi incident, but he didn't have the skill yet to actually read them.

Kurama-sensei had promised that he would be learning very soon, once he got down some more math tables and improved his speech a bit more. Despite all that, he knew what this stone represented. He could feel the sorrow, sense of loss, confusion and outright anger, almost as if the stone and surrounding ground had been soaked in a cocktail of each.

It was an unhappy place.

Speaking of unhappy, the one he knew of as Dog-san had been rapidly approaching his location with something like anger, but not. It was mixed with something else. Before he could arrive though, two female shinobi landed almost silently behind him. Their sudden arrival almost caused him to have an accident.

The darker of the two was wearing a mask of brown and gray swirls, each side of the mask an almost perfect mirror of the other. To her side was an unmasked, purplish-black haired late-teenager wearing what looked to be a tan overcoat over a mesh shirt and orange skirt.

"About time we found you, gaki!" said the teen with something like a grin, smile or smirk all at the same time. It was difficult to explain.

"I am Ocelot, and this is Mitarashi-san. We have been looking for you Naruto-kun. Did you forget that this is Visitation Day? You are almost two hours late."

That being said, Naruto flinched, both from the message and from the sudden hand on his shoulder, and there was a blur and slight disorientation, almost like one would get from staring up at the sky while spinning in circles, and then they were at the front entrance to the Hokage Tower.

The trip was so short, he didn't even have time to voice his surprise.

The guards nodded at Ocelot, but their eyes never dropped below her shoulders, where a blond head might be. The same behavior occurred at the primary check-in desk, causing the teen to muttered something about 'skanky rude secretari-asses' to which Ocelot chuckled.

She bid her friend a good day, then pulled him upwards. Though the act of someone touching him always made him a bit nervous, Ocelot was his favorite guard. Whenever she pulled him up, that meant wall running, and he was never disappointed.

Most of the hallways in the Hokage Tower, especially the public ones, had high and vaulted ceilings, some in the main entrance reaching thirty feet. Exterior halls also sported ten foot windows, each set within a benched alcove.

This meant plenty of overhead room which was normally occupied by banners, flags and oversized portraits of local and national figures of note, with the temporary addition of an ANBU toting a skinny blond child while running upside down through the halls on Visitation Day.

She had stayed by his side all through the examinations, only leaving when it came time for lunch. Before she left, however, she crouched down to be on eye level with Naruto and whispered for him to behave himself for the Hokage, for his actions would reflect on her.

His eyes had widened, since that was almost exactly what Kurama-sensei had said. He gave a short nod, and could have sworn he saw the Hokage smile, as if he heard what Ocelot said.

Sarutobi had heard every word. If he felt like it, he could hear an ant fart across a field one moment, then make it crap itself the next. Despite his age, he was still considered the God of Shinobis.

All that had led up to the now, with Jijii and himself eating take-out from Ichiraku's Ramen Stand, Naruto's most favorite eatery. The fact that it was his only allowed eatery went unsaid.

Despite all the surprises Naruto had experienced so far, it was time for Sarutobi to have a few as well.

It all started innocently enough.

"So how have you been, Naruto-kun? I trust you've been staying out of trouble?" Now, normally, Naruto would smile sheepishly and nod, but remain silent.

"I've be, being," he paused and nodded, "been good. I try to stay out of trouble, but trouble won't stay out of me. Huh? Oh, I mean away from me."

Had Naruto been looking at Sarutobi, he would have seen the old man's head snap up. Not only were those the first words the Hokage had heard from the boy, not only were they used in a comprehensible sentence, but the boy had paused, corrected himself, asked himself a question and then corrected the syntax of a statement.

People talking to themselves were normal in some instances. This was not normally true when talking to the leader of a ninja village, especially not when the one talking had a demon sealed inside them. This behavior made the listener, especially if the listener was the leader of a ninja village which had been attacked by said demon, exceptionally nervous.

All this was quite besides the fact that Sarutobi had enlisted several tutors for Naruto when it was determined that the orphanages were collectively doing their utmost to ensure the boy was dumb and mute.

Two years, two years of tutelage and nothing, not one single word.

Sarutobi had been puzzling over all the reports which had painted Naruto as a combative and very unwilling student, little more than a beast who grunted and expected praise for soiling himself. He made a mental note pass those records over to Ibiki.

He knew the head of the Torture and Interrogation Department within the Office of Special Affairs would be able to glean much more from the logs and personal interviews with the tutors than Sarutobi ever could.

It was around this time that things went bad in a hurry.

Sarutobi was no stranger to making mistakes and in all honesty, he should have known the reaction. Emotions, like love and hate, can blind oneself, and though Sarutobi loved Naruto, almost like a grandson, he loved the village more and was so blinded by his emotions.

His voice, tight with worry asked, "Naruto-kun, who were you talking with?"

The boy became unnaturally still, before his head, independent of the rest of his body, turned towards the Hokage. His eyes a bit too bright and his skin a tad too pale and waxen. Naruto's mouth opened and closed, struggling for words, while his small hands, so thin, clenched spastically.

Sarutobi smelt fear, and then the levee broke.


	4. Revelations

Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Kishimoto Masashi.

* * *

Sarutobi had half risen out of his seat, with full intentions on comforting the distraught child, when Naruto made a thin keening sound, eyes wide in fear.

A sense of dread formed in his mind, as the boy's fear became a palpable thing. When a sudden gust of wind blew his paperwork about, the bottom fell out of his stomach. No, it wasn't wind, but Naruto's chakra, leaving Sarutobi straining to detect any trace of taint, contingencies forming in his mind.

The thin child was still hunkered down in a guarded crouch, a cleared ring around him from the sudden and potent chakra spike. Sarutobi really hoped part of the fear came from accessing his reserves for the first time, as it could be a shock, and not something tenant-based.

The Hokage flicked his eyes over to the door when it opened, showing the concerned face of Kurenai, having felt the strange energy from her station.

"Hokage-sama?"

"Get me the following: Ibiki, Bear, Ocelot, Hayate and Anko. I want all of you in my office within three minutes." In Naruto's current state, he did not want him further surprised by summoned shinobis 'instantly appearing' courtesy of body flickers.

"Be sure to tell them no Shunshins. I want all of them to enter through that door. You have your orders."

When the door clicked shut, his eyes shifted back over to Naruto, who still hadn't moved. Sarutobi made to move towards him, stopping short when the boy blurred.

One of Naruto's tutors was crouching where Naruto had been just a moment prior. Before the question could even be framed, there was another blur and in place of the tutor was one of the village's own grocers.

Next came a masked ANBU who Sarutobi couldn't identify, followed by a child with short brown hair and blue sweatbands. Within moments, individual features could not be discerned as one person morphed into the next and next and next.

The only thing Sarutobi could think of was a seamless series of transformational techniques, one after another without a single hitch or handsign. It was just an anthropomorphic blur which rose and fell, changing in height, width and coloring.

The only constant throughout the strange parade were the eyes: they never changed. They each held coldness, anger and rage, over and over again.

Sarutobi's eyebrows climbed towards his receding hairline as the voices began, all centered on the shifting form in front of him. He knew Naruto had to be in there somewhere, and was furiously thinking of how to extract the boy.

It was a litany of epithets and profanities in varied adult pitches, sprinkled with youthful tenor contributing tamer, but just as hurtful labels. The word 'Demon' was a common term, which only served to deepen Sarutobi's frown.

Only a few seconds had actually passed, but he was stilled by a single epiphany: Naruto was showing him a catalogue of abusers, one person after another. Hiruzen had a good eye, and keener memory.

The problem was, he didn't know how to make Naruto stop. It was then that Sarutobi felt his own heart lurch within his chest when the blur of people halted on a crouched faceless Uchiha, the activated Sharingan the only facial feature, who began flipping through the handsigns for a very potent fire technique.

Sarutobi barely even blinked as his body propelled itself over the desk, catching the very solid man-sized hands of the faceless Uchiha before he could finish the seals. With a long-practiced maneuver, the hands were separated, one of which was twisted behind the figure with a chackra-laiden fist en route to rattle and stun the brain.

The punch quickly became a very panicked, unpowered, open hand slap upside the boy's head, when the faceless Uchiha became a frightened five year old Naruto.

The sound echoed loudly as the office door swung open. In the ensuing and shocked silence, everyone heard the confused question.

"Jijii?"

"I am sorry, Naruto, but I really didn't know what else to do to snap you out of it. Something happened, and I'm very sorry for hurting you."

Naruto's frightened eyes flicked over to the crowd of people who had made their way into the office.

"Naruto, these are good people who, hopefully, can help us understand just what happened, okay?" He got a shaky nod.

"Hayate, guard the door. If anyone, and I mean anyone tries to force their way through, I want you to turn them into very small pieces. This is not a request."

Hayate's eyes had been resting on Naruto, giving no clue of the inner thoughts. At Sarutobi's order, they widened slightly, and with a silent nod, he slipped back through the door. It closed behind him with a click.

"Ibiki, sweep and seal the room. Anko, secure the windows. Do you know of any 'friendly' Yamanakas, Ibiki?" At the negative, he sighed and shook his head.

"Then we'll have to do this the hard way. Now, Naruto, do you remember Ocelot?" At his nod, Sarutobi motioned her to come close and to remove her mask.

Naruto was instantly enthralled, this being the first time he had actually seen her face.

Ocelot, that being both her real and code name, was in her young twenties, with a heart-shaped face framed by pale streaked brown hair. Her skin was an exotic dusky olive, revealing her Kumo heritage, but the feature which snagged the boy's complete attention were her blue and green mismatched eyes.

"Have you been good, Naruto-kun? Perhaps if Hokage-sama allows it, we can do some more wall running later on. Would you like that?" Her tone was pitched in Hostage Retrieval 4, warm, with open body language to instill trust.

She got a slow and steady nod at that as she crouched down by him, his eyes never leaving her own. She was there for moral support and Naruto's peace of mind.

"Kurenai, stand by for any medical treatments. You'll find a full field medical kit in the supply closet next to the second brown filing cabinet. Bear, I need you ready just in case anything gets weirder than normal. I expect you to show full restraint and Naruto is not to be harmed under any circumstances."

He began going through a long chain of seals, pausing near the end to call Naruto's name softly. When Naruto looked away from Ocelot to face the Hokage, Sarutobi finished the final seal and touched Naruto's forehead with his index finger.

Sarutobi found himself in an unexpected place.

01001110 01100001 01110010 01110101 01110100 01101111

Of all the things he was expecting, an ancient forest was not one of them. But here he and it was, the trunks of the massive trees larger than any he had seen in his long life. They rose impossibly high, their tops lost in the mist.

"Jijii?"

He quickly turned his head to find a very confused looking Naruto, head cocked to the side as he sat on a rock.

"Ah, Naruto-kun. I was hoping I would see you here. I do apologize for this, but we both needed some answers as to what happened in the office, yes?" He got an uncertain nod. "Yes, now, would you happen to know where we are, exactly?"

**"His mind, meatbag."**

Whipping his head around, Sarutobi saw a young fox step out of the undergrowth. The small body was followed by...nine tails! Had something happened to the Seal?

The fox seemed to sense his distress and panic, not to mention the loud crack of the man's neck. Derisive laughter echoed through the trees, followed by an intense silence.

The cause of that was a low-pitched growl from where Naruto had been. Fearing what it could be, Sarutobi turned back to see Naruto as Naruto, only with an uncharacteristic scowl on his face as he stared at the fox.

"Kurama-sensei! You be nice to Hokage-jijii. He," Naruto paused to think for a moment. "He special person! So you be nice or me, I get angry."

_'He calls the fox sensei?'_ Sarutobi could have sworn that dark clouds scuttled against the veiled sky.

"Jijii, don't worry. He safe, see? Collar and bell so I know where Kurama-sensei is."

"Naruto-kun," began Sarutobi, his voice thick with rising concern, "where is the Cage?"

A snort to his left brought his attention back to the fox. **"This is the cage, you hairless ape."**

"Kurama-sensei!"

It looked as if the fox was struggling with something, as his jaw flexed several times before his eyes flickered red. But before Sarutobi could begin to speculate, an otherwise unnoticed seal on the fox's forehead pulsed a bright crimson.

The recoil was instant, as it had been physical stung or shocked. That and Naruto's relative unconcern about both his surroundings and company helped to put Sarutobi at ease. He knew how twitchy the boy could be.

**After a long moment, as the creature recovered from whatever had injured it, the fox muttered out, "Fine."**

**"I am Kurama, or Kurama-sensei to Naruto-sama. Despite my vastly reduced state, I am still the Kyuubi no Kitsune, Nine Tailed Demon Lord and God of Foxes and Vulpines. And just so you can sleep better at night, yes, I am still sealed."**

"How?"

**"How? I tried to escape, that's how!"** At Sarutobi's shocked expression, he continued. **"I went the mental route instead of torture and tried to snap his mind with an image of what he most wanted being ashamed of him.**

**"It backfired. The next thing I know, I shrink from three hundred feet to eight inches, on my back and completely restrained. I was collared, leashed and chained. Naruto-sama had a hand around my throat and was a little bit angry.**

**"To save my skin, we made a deal."**

At the splutter of outrage, he continued. **"Yes,"** he purred, drawing out the word, **"I promised him vengeance upon those who mistreat him as he builds a throne from their children's skulls."**

That admission created both a large chakra spike and a healthy dose of killing intent.

**"Don't get your diapers in a bind, old man. I basically promised to 'be good' for the time being, so you can relax. Or do I need to remind you that you are currently in a young boy's head. The damage you do in here could be permanent...that is if he lets you do anything."**

"What do you mean by that and what is with being called sensei? What have you been teaching the boy?" Sarutobi's tone was justifiably angry.

Kurama waved a paw dismissively, not concerned in the least. **"Do you really want to know how all this came into being?**

**"One sentence."** He kept the part about praise to himself. **"I asked him to show me a 'safe place', as he had demonstrated a significant level of mental control by the spatial manipulations he had forced me through. All of **_**this**_** from that."**

He paused to let that sink in, as he adjusted to a more comfortable position.

**"As for teaching him,"** Sarutobi could feel the sneer, **"I teach what your foolish villagers won't. Not two weeks ago, he knew maybe, at most, ten words. Four of those were obscenities. Now listen to him. He can add and subtract simple equations up to four digits in his head and has been learning multiplication tables. Naruto, eleven times twelve!"**

"One three two." The response was almost instant.

**"Could your vaunted tutors do that? He started those tables yes-ter-day. Tomorrow is division and basic fractions. Within a few days, his word associations should be high enough for reading and writing.**

**"I teach him to use his mind, which is more than what I could say about you.**

**"Do not be confused, none of this is out of the goodness of my heart. As I stated earlier, deals were made and I am only upholding my end."**

"And his end? What does Naruto-kun have to do for you?"

Kurama frowned, feeling Naruto's eyes on him.** "He lets me live."**

He shook himself, hating having to give that admission. Taking a few breaths, Kurama calmed himself before the Seal could activate again.

**"This leads to why you are here. To be honest, I was just as surprised as you and can only surmise it was a base instinctual reaction meant to confuse an attacker. Without a kitsune's power to shapeshift, I highly doubt he would have reacted in quite the same way.**

**"I doubt this will happen again, since the trigger seems to have been a state of full Fight or Flight, and he could do neither since the assumed aggressor was you. So he went with Option C to confuse his attacker, as it were.**

**"Be thankful the boy thinks so highly of you."** The look given to Sarutobi was significant.

**"Naruto, history lesson. Tell your Hokage why I am here."**

"Hai, start with Snake Man." Sarutobi visibly started at the reference. At his questioning look, Naruto gave a half-shrug before elaborating.

"Anko-san smell of snake but only move like one. Snake Man smell like one, move like one, look like one, eat like one, sound like one, live like one. Snake Man make, made imbalance?" A nod from Kurama. "Imbalance between natural and elemental energy, or life and death force. Kurama-sensei search.."

**"Investigate. It means to examine, study or seek out."**

Sarutobi was offended that the Kyuubi Attack could be called a demonic investigation gone awry. That feeling faded as he watched the boy mouth the word several times, even hearing it on the wind. _'There's wind here?'_

All the while, the fox's arrogant stare never left Sarutobi's face. There was pride there, despite what the fox said, pride in _his_ student. Sarutobi felt very old at that moment, and more than a bit shamed.

"Kurama-sensei investigate imbalance and find Snake Man's scent, which led here. Next thing Kurama-sensei knows, he is being attacked, there was a giant frog, toad, the sudden appearance of the Death God and then pain before he woke up in me."

**"What's the difference between natural and elemental energy?"** Again the fox kept his gaze on the old man's incredulous face.

"Natural in all living things, like bugs, grass, me. Elemental is dead things, since they are not really living things but states of being?" Another nod. "Bijuu are balance, made of both."

Sarutobi was both stunned and amazed. Prior to today, he had never once heard the boy speak a single word. Though the sentences were short and a bit choppy, not only was the boy understandable, but he was also able to impart a fairly complex theory.

The real kicker, which definitely made him feel his age, was the notion that Orochimaru, one of his greatest failings, was behind the 'attack' which apparently never should have happened. But did, costing so very much. And apparently, Naruto knew about Ky...Kurama-sama.

That would be a conversation Sarutobi would have rather avoided until later. As it stood, even his headache had a headache.

Little did he know that Orochimaru had actually been in the village during that time, intent on kidnapping a very pregnant Uzumaki Kushina, Minato's secret wife. What he intended could have been anything from abdication or worse. The serpentine traitor knew of one place that would pay rather handsomely for the Son of Iwa Bane.

As it turned out, she was at the one place he never looked: outside the walls battling Kyuubi. That was also where she died after giving birth in an impromptu field hospital, not ten feet from where Leaf nins were fighting.

Despite having just given birth, she still led a final distraction charge to give her husband enough time to finish the jutsus. To summon the Death God took a fiendishly long chain of handseals.

As her consciousness faded, she assumed her son was safe, the village assumed Minato's son was dead, and only two living people knew the truth.

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Sarutobi Hiruzen sat in his nicely appointed study in the Hokage Mansion, working on a pot of green tea while the object of his thoughts slept not ten feet away on a leather couch.

In short, this had been a _Day_. It was not a Visitation Day, but a _Day_. It was literally one thing after another, starting with report discrepancies and ending with a very tired and distraught five year old looking very small as he was curled in a fetal ball on the couch.

After he became aware of being back in his office it was to find both himself and Naruto wearing finger cuffs on their right index, a light mask over their mouth and nose, and wired pads on each temple.

All the lines led back to two devices, over which Kurenai hovered with a clipboard and stopwatch, seemingly oblivious to all else. She gave quite a start when Sarutobi cleared his throat. Before she could explain, Ibiki spoke up.

"Biorhythm, blood and lung pressure, perspiration detection and beta waves. We use this setup often during debriefs, especially for problem cases, since it gives a pretty good indication if something mental has happened, like shock, hypnotic suggestion or a really nasty genjutsu. May not give specifics, but it's a good starting point. Not to mention it would give us a heads up if the person we sent in wasn't the same one we got back."

"You did good, Kurenai. How long?"

"Just over three minutes."

Sarutobi started at this. He could have sworn he was there for at least an hour. "Naruto, do you know anything about this?"

The boy wilted under the sudden attention and flinched when Ocelot touched his shoulder. "Um..Ak..Kurama-sensei, before you came, Kurama-sensei axt, asked if I could change time like I did with the cage."

That admission made all heads but two snap up, to which the Hokage gave a silent gesture clearly meaning 'later'.

"Do not worry, Naruto-kun, no one here is angry with you. We're just surprised is all, something it seems we have been rather often as of late. Ocelot, I believe you mentioned something about taking Naruto-kun for 'wall running', was it?"

"Would you like to come with me, Naruto-kun?" At his slow nod, she turned her back to him as she replaced her ANBU mask. "Then climb on up and we'll get going. By your leave, Hokage-sama."

At his nod, and after Naruto had climbed on her back, Ocelot had Hayate report back to the Hokage and left with Naruto to run the walls.

"Suffice to say, all that has transpired here is SS village secret, the revealer of such guilty of treason and will be punished accordingly."

He moved back to his desk, frowning at his discarded pipe. With careful motions, he emptied and refilled the bowl as he spoke.

"Kurama-sensei is Naruto's tenant, and though that sounds rather alarming, let me put your minds at ease. In his own words, he tried to escape not too long ago, the consequence of such leading him to be demoniacally oathbound to young Naruto. He seems determined to teach Naruto, though I am uncertain of his full motives."

Sarutobi paused as the bowl was lit, taking a few puffs from his pipe to soothe himself. "Towards this end, I will be enrolling him for the beginning of a new academy year this fall."

"Isn't he a bit young for the Academy? He looks to be no older than three or four."

"Not at all, Bear. He's actually going on six." Pondering his next words, he continued, "I was made to feel personal shame for the lack of that boy's education. Those words you heard were the among the first he has ever spoken. Two weeks ago, he could barely grunt."

He shook his head to their gobsmacked expressions. "I will not have that demon be his sole tutor, one which cannot be monitored. Speaking of which, Ibiki, here is a file with the tutors I had assigned Naruto for the past three years. Next week, I want to know why a demon fox could do what they could not."

He stood, turning towards the view overlooking Konoha. "In the wake of the attack and the subsequent rebuilding, I had entrusted his care to the orphanages. That turned out to be a grave mistake, one which you, Anko, along with Ocelot will help remedy.

"And no, that does not mean reprisals against the orphanages. What's done is done, and so long as Naruto bears no ill will towards them, I would like to keep it that way.

"Watch his sleep, assist his learning, fix his diet and keep him safe. If you have need, you and Ocelot can bring in a third person to help carry the load.

"I thank all of you for coming and assisting. You are dismissed. Anko, please stay behind, and Kurenai, if you could resume your prior duty, that would be most helpful."

Bowing low to their Hokage, the occupants flickered away except for Kurenai, who repacked the field kit and stored it before resuming her secretarial duties, and Anko, who stood at attention before the Hokage's desk.

Sarutobi turned back around and took a seat behind his desk, catching Anko's disgruntled expression. "If you have something to say, you may speak freely."

"Um, Hokage-sama, no disrespect intended," began Anko, wasting no time, "but is this a demotion for not getting him here on time? To be pulled off missions and turned into nannies, I mean, we did find him and all that, so why are we getting D rank babysitting?"

Sarutobi set down his pipe, giving Anko his full attention. "Anko, this is of far greater importance than mere babysitting. As you might have gleaned, he is aware of his prisoner. Also, I'm beginning to think his treatment may have been worse than reported.

"Though it is a touchy subject, you do have experience in dealing with prejudice and anger management, and Ocelot is a soothing influence." He made note of her clenched fists at her side.

"The other side of this assignment is investigating some things for me. There seems to be a few discrepancies between last night's security detail report on Uzumaki Naruto, and the night logs of the main hospital. I would like you to utilize your summons to give me a 'day in the life', if you would.

"Catalogue and report all scents around and in Naruto-kun's apartment. Your summons will be duly rewarded with select living grain and grass fed field rats and mice from the Special Liaison Office, payable daily. I'm assuming you'll be using Mamba-san?"

He got surprised nod, and noted her fists had unclenched. "Very well then. If you choose another or additional summons, please inform the Duty Officer for extra payments. Just be sure to keep the logs updated. You are dismissed."

Taking the folder, she bowed low and made for the door, happy that Sarutobi hadn't gotten upset at her complaint. Opening it revealed Ocelot carrying a sleeping Naruto.

"Back so soon?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama. Naruto-kun is a bit tired from this afternoon and the walk walking."

"You mean wall running, yes?"

Ocelot suddenly seemed a bit embarrassed and shifted her left foot. "Actually, wall walking, Hokage-sama."

Anko was still standing with her hand on the doorknob looking at her friend in shock as Sarutobi coughed in his hand. "And you thought that was a good idea? I believe he only just unlocked his chakra this afternoon."

"My apologies, Hokage-sama. We had started wall running when Naruto-kun mentioned a game he had seen before but never got to try. He wanted to play tag, but not on the hallway floors, as he didn't want to anger anyone by bumping into them. So he asked me if I could teach him to stand on walls.

"Finally hearing his voice and those pleading eyes, I found it very hard to say no." She began shifting her other foot. "He's a surprisingly quick study though.

"He can't walk on walls by any stretch, but he can hold himself vertical for a few seconds. If he places his feet then tenses his body, he's in a vertical start position a few inches off the ground. The moment he shifts a foot though, he loses all contact.

"But even that much, especially if he just unlocked his potential..." The pride she felt was evident, though her voice faded as she reoriented on her Hokage and coughed into her fist.

"I see. Place him on the couch, I'll take care of him tonight. Anko will brief you on your new mission, once she actually moves through the door. You are both dismissed."

Anko started guiltily and they both bowed before leaving his office. Sarutobi ensured the boy was comfortable before heading back to his desk. Paperwork waited for no man, and he had a sinking feeling that the child was going to generate enough to cover the whole of Konoha to the depth of several feet.

Once alone, except for the slumbering child, he found his eyes drawn to the couch. Kurama's words had stung along with that prideful and smug expression. Despite it being a fox, the message had been very clear.

_'**I **did this, not you, not your village, but **me**.'_

Finding his concentration fleeting, he organized his desk, then dismissed Kurenai. Once done, he carefully hefted the sleeping boy and flickered to his home.

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he pressed a small call button and spoke one word. "Ana."

Within moments, the door opened a crack and a woman in her thirties poked her head through. "Hai, Hokage-sama?"

"If you would be so kind, would you fetch for me a warm blanket and pillow? I believe we have spares in the guest supply closets."

"Hai." It was then that she noticed the boy on the couch, her eyes hardening just enough to be noticed.

"Ana, is there a problem?"

"No, Hokage-sama, there is no problem. Allow to gather that which you requested."

"A moment of indulgence, if you would, dear Ana. What is your opinion of the small boy on the couch?"

"I have no opinion, Hokage-sama. I only desire to serve the Sarutobi clan." She kept her gaze down with a passive expression.

"The political answer then. Fear not, Ana. I would never dream of firing you, as you have been a loyal member of the staff for many years. You may speak freely if you desire."

There was a brief look of internal struggle. "Why?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Why?" Her eyes flickered upwards briefly, showing her anger.

"Why what, Ana?"

"Why do you let it live?"

Now Sarutobi's eyes hardened. "Ana, though I will not fire you for that, in keeping with my word, do I need to teach you the difference between a kunai in the hand and the kunai in the scroll? Do you require a practical lesson?"

Her eyes widened at the implication, shaking her head. "No Hokage-sama! I am your servant above all else. Forgive my foolishness!"

"I'm not the one wronged. Did you know Minato was an orphan?"

The non sequitur threw Ana off guard. "Um...no?"

"It's true. An orphan became Hokage. He was a genius, Minato was, especially when it came to seals. He was a master at making seals, such as the one which holds this captive bound." Aside from Ana, Sarutobi now had two other listeners, having half of Naruto's drowsy attention and all of Kurama's.

"But, without him here, there's no telling what would happen if Naruto was to die, or if his seal was damaged." This got Naruto's full attention, though he gave no indication of being awake. He had plenty of practice in 'playing possum'.

"The demon could die, the demon could take over, the demon could escape, or Naruto could prove immortal. Nobody knows and because of our hubris, the one person with the answers is locked in the Death God's belly for eternity. Minato will stay there until a soul of greater value is willingly sacrificed on his behalf, and you'd be hard pressed to find one.

"I consider every villager as part of my family, though just under my own. They get a bit more preferential treatment. But among the village family, Minato was first among equals."

He paused, lost in memory. "Who do I kid, he was First Son and I miss him dearly.

"He spoke his first words today." He nodded fondly towards Naruto, catching her surprised expression. "No, it's true, and not just his first words, but first sentences. He's going on six years of age. How old were you?"

"Me, Hokage-sama?" A nod. "Under a year of age, Hokage-sama."

"What kind of reaction did that receive?"

"My parents were very proud, Hokage-sama."

"Did you know Naruto is an orphan?"

Her head snapped up at that, unable to miss the near parallel to an earlier question.

"He's a hero, just as the Fourth Hokage wanted him seen. With every breath, he keeps his prisoner captive."

"Hokage-sama?"

"Which would you prefer, Ana? Would you rather have a three hundred foot high fox? He was monstrous, with one hundred foot long tails, the nine of them seeming to act independent of each other, each of them made of the embodiment of fire.

"The heat was so intense that it melted high grade kunais within fifteen feet. Molten slag was hurled back at our defenders. Is that what you would prefer?"

Kurama was rigid with attention and more than a bit prideful. _**'I was a sight to behold, not to mention downright smexy.'**_

Outside of Naruto's mindspace, the boy was struck silent while Ana curled up on herself in fright.

"No! Um...no, Hokage-sama. It's just, it's just that he looks so much like him, almost like he's mocking us."

"It's no mockery, Ana."

She spluttered, "Wh-what? But...but he's dead!"

"Warm blanket and pillow, or have you forgotten that we have a guest?"

"Ha-hai, Ho-hokage-sama!"

After she had left, one weary Sarutobi turned to the 'sleeping' Naruto. "We will discuss this later, young one. It would not be good for certain parties both inside and outside the village to learn who you really are before you can defend yourself. I only hope you can both understand and forgive an old fool for trying to do what's best for everyone."

To that he got a slight nod and faint "Hai, Hokage-jijii."

"Tell you what, Naruto. Since we did not have that great of a Day today, we will try again in seven days. This should give time to clear my schedule for you. How does that sound?"

If Sarutobi thought Naruto's smile lit the room, it had nothing on the mindscape. Not only was the moon full enough to read by, but pale moonflowers waved in the cool breeze as wolves - Kurama was fairly sure there weren't any here before - paid their homage to the lunar Goddess.

"As I considered Minato the First Son among equals, so are you my First Grandson." It was during this statement that Ana reentered the study. It wasn't that she was fast, but she did know the secret of delegation.

"I brought what you requested, Hokage-sama, and I do apologize for my earlier impertinence. If it permissible, I will stay with Naruto-kun while you reflect on your day."

The only indication of surprise was a single raised eyebrow. "Thank you for that, Ana, and you seem to have foreseen my task, for I do have much to ponder. We have been some time without a Matron; perhaps the time has come to fill that vacancy."

She bowed low at the waist before pouring him a fresh cup of tea. After her duty here, she would visit the family shrine again, the one for the staff. Matron Tsumi had died trying to protect Biwako-sama, Hiruzen-sama's wife of forty years, from falling debris. On the night Kyuubi came, neither survived.

As he packed his pipe, she made her way over to the couch after draping the blanket over the boy and placing the pillow close enough to his head for him to grab it if he chose. She then sat at the far end of the couch before becoming somewhat enthralled with the silken blond locks of the Kyuubi container.

Minato, even when spoken for, was such a heart-throb, and to see this boy who looked so much like Minato-sama, it hurt, even after these five years. It was like the boy was a tacit reminder of what they had lost, not just in the person, but in the promise of what might have been had any of that family survived.

Barely conscious of her hands, so lost in thought, they made three abortive attempts to touch his hair. When she actually touched his hair, he recoiled, even as he was nodding off. Her hand had jerked away as if it had been slapped.

Reaching out again, she touched the blond tips and kept her fingers still during and after the spasm. To have such a strong reaction to a simple touch, the rejection of human contact, it made her feel very ashamed and more than a bit guilty. Her earlier words echoed in her head.

_'How much did he hear?'_

It wasn't long, however, before she was running her fingers through his unruly hair slowly. Thirty minutes later, Naruto's arms were around her waist, his head in her lap, and the rest of him was dead to the world. Naruto would later call this singularity The Best Sleep Ever.


	5. Little Carrot, Lot of Stick

Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Kishimoto Masashi.

* * *

It was early morning as Sarutobi walked through the Tower halls. He stopped outside of his office, and slightly turned his head to the standing woman behind the desk with her head bowed.

"Good morning, Hokage-sama. I am Yoshinibi, your new assistant."

"Pleasure to meet you, Yoshinibi-san. I trust you are familiar with your duties and responsibilities?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

"There may be occasions when a blond child is brought in to see me. Will this be a problem for you?"

She gave a slight start, but kept her eyes trained on the floor. "No, Hokage-sama."

"I will hold you to that. You may be seated, Yoshinibi-san. I have need of a runner." He noted with satisfaction that her hands were already poised for notation.

"Have this runner head to the Memorial Stone, where I assume Hatake Kakashi to be visiting. The runner will inform Captain Hatake that he is three hours late for a meeting today which was scheduled two days ago. If he does not immediately move, the runner is to mention that had Captain Hatake shown up at that earlier meeting, then the Hokage would not be slowly drinking tea with a scowl. Do you have all that?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

"Good. Have the runner dispatched immediately and send in Captain Hatake once he arrives."

"Immediately, Hokage-sama. Preference, Hokage-sama?"

He paused with his hand on the office door and glanced back with a slight smile. "Green tea will be fine, Yoshinibi-san. Carry on." Going inside the office, he moved behind the desk where he saw several reports, one especially catching his attention.

"Ah, Mitarashi-san's 'day in the life'. How went your night, Naruto?"

Before long, his visage shifted from amiable to dangerous. "I see. In room ANBU, Captain Hatake is en route. Should he do anything, and I mean _anything_ to show the least bit of aggression, seal him immediately and have him transported to Interrogation. Is that understood? You may speak."

There were three disembodied "Hai"'s.

As he pulled out Hatake's EOS report and the hospital log, there was a soft knock at the door.

"Enter."

"Your tea, Hokage-sama."

"Ah, splendid. Allow me to clear a space for you. While with Captain Hatake, please hold all messages and reschedule any overrun appointments."

"Hai, Hokage-sama. By your leave."

With a nod, he was once again alone, aside from the hidden security detail. Fifteen minutes later there was a knock and the door opened, revealing a tall, lanky man with a shock of gray hair standing up at an angle. On his belt was a dog-shaped ANBU mask, in red.

"You called, Hokage-sama?"

"I have and at ease. This shouldn't take too long."

Hatake nodded and slipped into a slightly slouched standing position.

"I have read some troubling reports of late, Captain, and I was wondering if you could grant some insight. It has been a long time since I was part of ANBU, Captain. Tell me, what is it called when a soldier knowingly lies to their commanding officer?"

Hatake stiffened slightly, while his mouth snapped out, "Insubordination." Then his single eye widened, the other covered with a slanted Leaf headband. A feeling of foreboding settled upon him.

"Ah, so it is, Hatake. I also wonder, what is it called when a soldier leaves their station without permission?"

Hatake's mind was racing at the possible implications. The Hokage had left off his title. "Desertion," his mouth snapped out.

"Yes, so it is. And when a soldier abandons their orders to do something else?"

"Dereliction of duty." In the end, he was betrayed by his military conditioning, combined with protocols when addressing his commander-in-chief.

"Quite. Turn in your mask, Jounin. You are hereby relieved of any and all ANBU duties, effective immediately."

"What?! You can't..."

"Silence! I can and will, Chuunin! Tell me plainly, _Chuunin_, tell me what the punishment is for someone who commits these crimes?" Sarutobi flipped a folder open and held it so Hatake could read the single sheet inside clearly. The lone eye widened, the exposed skin paled and the hands began to slightly twitch. "I see you understand the situation now, Chuunin."

"But.."

"I did not give you leave to speak!" Sarutobi roared. When he stood and leaned across his desk, where his hands touched, the wood splintered.

"You are here to serve the Hokage and this Village, not your own whims or desires. Three of these offenses are punishable by Death by Jutsu, with two others having Public Hangings."

He calmed his voice, but left his undiluted anger to wash over the shaking man. "Such would be a waste, for I still believe you could serve Konoha with loyalty and honor. I am being very lenient with you, Hatake, and you would be well served to know your place. These are not mere peccadilloes.

"However, if you persist in defying my will, we still have other ranks we can sample, or should I skip to the chase and simply call you Civilian?!"

Hatake promptly fainted.

Drawing his intent and chakra back, Sarutobi motioned for someone to check on Yoshinibi. There was a slight displacement in one of the upper corners. He hoped he wouldn't have to find another replacement; she made very good tea.

"Bear."

A large man in black appeared before the Hokage's desk. "Your will, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi began filling in a form. "Open face, if you would."

"Hai," said Bear as he removed his mask, showing a smooth open face with wide black eyes and a head of short brown hair. He wore a headpiece with the Leaf symbol in the center of the forehead and two side pieces running alongside his jaw.

"Tenzou-san, I need you to take this," he said as he held the paper, "and that," he pointed, Bear's eyes widening as he glanced at the recumbent Hatake, "to Personnel and hand in this form.

"Then, you are to escort Hatake to Supply where you will witness him emptying out his Jounin vest for an olive Chuunin vest with a blue collar. He has managed to land himself in a Probationary Position.

"You will be the signing witness to any property exchange. Inform him he is on a two-week leave, and cannot exit the village. He will need a friend, so I ask you be there for him. Under no circumstances will he be allowed into ANBU Headquarters unless arrested. His personal affects will be delivered to his residence."

"It will be done. Permission to speak freely, Hokage-sama?"

"Granted."

"What did..."

"Since you were present and debriefed after my visitation with Naruto's sensei," he motioned Tenzou to the open file, "that is what Hatake did during the last security detail. Though this is not the first offense, I still have need of him. At your discretion, remind him of his three-month probation and that the Jounin Selection Exams will be in two years. That should give him sufficient time to reevaluate his life choices."

"I understand fully. By your leave, Hokage-sama."

"Dismissed."

Tenzou hefted Hatake over his shoulder and left the office with a nodded bow to Sarutobi. To an empty room, he said, "Number Three, I will need you to secure Hatake's former office. Take two medium scrolls with you from the second closet and hand deliver them to Morino Ibiki when done. We'll sort through everything later." He felt a presence leave.

As he poured himself another cup of tea, he noticed the damage to his desk. With a sigh, he began the requisition forms for a new one. He could only hope Naruto was having a better day.

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Ocelot and Anko arrived at the Hokage Mansion around 08:00 to be greeted by Ana sporting a black sash upon her uniform.

"Ana-san, good morning. I see you've been made Matron. Anko, this is Ana, Matron of the Sarutobi staff. Ana-san, this is Mitarashi Anko, one of Hokage-sama's favored Chuunins. We were instructed to collect Uzumaki-kun. Is he available?"

"Welcome Ocelot-san, Mitarashi-san, and thank you for the kind words. Yes, Naruto-kun is available." She turned her head to the side. "Naruto? Ocelot-san and Mitarashi-san are here for you."

The boy poked his head around a corner and grinned at Ocelot before moving up alongside Ana. With a nod and brief smile from her, he stepped outside and edged close to Ocelot.

"Naruto-kun, do you remember Anko-san from yesterday morning?"

He nodded. "Snake lady."

That got an instant reaction from Anko. She had crouched down low and leaned towards Naruto with a darkened face. "What do you mean by that, brat!" she hissed out.

"Anko! Tch. Naruto, it's OK, she's not going to hurt you. Can you answer her question?"

Naruto, who had wrapped himself around and partially behind one of Ocelot's legs, nodded hesitantly. "Move..move like snake but not like Snake Man. He is im..unbalanced." He nodded to himself and looked back up at Anko, who had not moved. "But you not like him at all."

He seemed to ponder something with his eyes cast downwards, and then looked back up at Anko, and for a very brief moment, she saw her reflection. He seemed to sniff the air, nostrils flaring.

"Why you..do you smell sad?" He reached out his right hand, his left firmly clenching Ocelot's pant leg, and touched Anko's cheek.

It took all of Anko's will power, along with a voice shouting in her head 'Child Child Child', _not_ to spin away into a crouched attack position before lunging forwards with a kunai in one hand and shadow snakes zipping out the other sleeve from shock and conditioned reflex.

Naruto, oblivious to the danger, pulled his hand back and glanced at Anko again, with something like a blush on his cheeks. "You too..are too pretty to be sad."

Anko stood up suddenly, flushed with embarrassment as Ocelot gained Naruto's attention. "That was very nice of you to say, wasn't it Ana-san?"

"Indeed, very sweet of you, Naruto-kun. Be good for them, Naruto-kun; I must return to my duties. Be safe, Ocelot-san, Mitarashi-san." With that, Ana slipped back into the mansion and closed the door.

"Are you ready, Naruto-kun? We have many things to do today with you, though you may not like all of them." At his nod, she slowly bent at the hip and slid her right hand down to touch his hand. "Grab hold, Naruto-kun. Tight, but not too tightly, okay? Have you recovered, Anko?"

They started walking towards the market sector. "Well enough, I suppose. You should've warned me he was a smooth talker."

"We are all learning as we go, Anko." was the chuckled reply.

"Ocelot-san? Why the mask? You has..have pretty eyes."

"Thank you, Naruto-kun, and you are a smooth talker, aren't you. The mask, Naruto-kun, is to remind other people to behave, just like we will behave. It is a reminder. Do you understand?" She got a nod and grip-squeeze.

"Say, if you two are done flirting, mind if we stop for grub? I could use some dango and maybe some bean soup."

"What is flirting?"

Ocelot tilted her mask at Anko, then answered, "We will tell you later, Naruto-kun. I promise."

"And dango?"

"Only the best food ever!"

"Hwuaah? Nuh-uhn, ramen is!"

"Have you ever had dango, brat?"

"Not brat, Naruto and silly asking..question. If I ask what is, I know not what is, silly snake! Ramen still better." Half a moment later, he snapped his fingers at her with a...was that a glint in his eye?

"You...you dare to snap your fingers at me, you little turdling?" She saw him mouth the word. "Means 'little turd', little turd."

Now he was the one spluttering. Anko half-stifled a snort, stuck out her tongue and gave the 'victory' sign. The walked a bit in relative silence, Naruto looking deep in thought.

"So you ever have ramen? How do you know dango better if never tried ramen?"

Anko momentarily stopped in her tracks, blinked, then caught back up shaking her head muttering about 'stupid brats and their stupid logic'. "Fine. You try dango, I'll try ramen and we'll see. You're still a bratty little turd though."

Ocelot knew what the fifteen year old was doing, and was silently thankful, as the insults and banter distracted Naruto from the glares and barely heard mutterings. Having an overt ANBU escort did give them a moderate berth, and she just hoped today didn't turn out like most others. The kid was long overdue a break.

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Umino Iruka, Chuunin, was on extended medical leave and had recently been given Light Duty clearance: clerical and the like, easy pace, zero threat. Normally, he was with Charlie Company in the Second Hunter Division, but had suffered a shattered collarbone and multiple fractures in his left leg on an extraction mission about a month back.

The Hunters were recon scouts and trackers, providing field intelligence, tracking targets, and performing extractions. Rarely, there were assassinations, since there was another division just for those.

A possible scenario would be the Hunters go in, read the area, then call in the heavy hitters, Tai and Ninjutsu specialists, while they would perform their own tasks. Those were sometimes aided by a Genjutsu specialist or overall generalist, during the distraction and confusion.

Though this last mission was successful, his company did take some bad hits. Iruka had only left the hospital last week, so he was a bit surprised to have been summoned to see the Hokage.

As he checked in with the unfamiliar receptionist outside the office, he thought, _'It can't be a report error. If that were the case I would've been summoned earlier, or someone from Intelligence would have seen me.'_

His mind shifted to darker thoughts. _'Is this a disciplinary action? Sure there were some things which could've gone better, there's never a 'perfect' mission, but I don't think there were any mistakes __**that**__ bad.'_

"Hokage-sama has been expecting you, Umino-san. Please, go on in."

"Thank you, um..."

"Yoshinibi."

He bowed his head. "Thank you, Yoshinibi-san."

He knocked, heard the greeting and entered, closing the door behind him.

"Ah, Iruka. How are you feeling? Please, have a seat, we have much to discuss, you and I." The delivery was friendly and casual.

A stunned Iruka shakily walked before the large desk and sat in the indicated chair.

"Tea?"

"A...no, no thank you, Hokage-sama, and I am well. Thank you for asking, Hokage-sama." Iruka bobbed his head in respect.

"Yes, I see you have been cleared for Light Duty, correct?" At the silent nod, he continued, "Looking through your records, I can see an inclination towards teaching. Your peers have spoken openly of your patience, attentiveness, loyalty and ability to impart instruction in a, and I'm quoting here, 'warmly human fashion'."

He saw Iruka blush and duck his head and chuckled. "Nothing to be ashamed of, Iruka. These are excellent qualities in a teacher or counselor, should you chose to retire from the Hunters. Either would suit you well, as I have read of your aptitude with young hostages and extractions."

"I am honored, Hokage-sama. I am yours to command, as always."

"I am please to hear that, Iruka. You may or may not know this, but every position has an entrance requirement, a test, if you would. I have the perfect test for you to gauge your skills. Have some tea, it will calm you. I'll have one as well, if you would be so kind."

Iruka gave a slight smile and nod as he stood and poured two cups, passing one to the Hokage as he retook his seat.

"Mmmm...I may have to keep Yoshinibi-san. She makes good tea. As I was saying though, I have the perfect skills test." He paused as he savored a sip.

"There is, in this very village, a child in desperate need. He desires to enter the Shinobi Academy, and preliminary tests indicate great potential, as well as his documented ability to call upon his chakra. The latter was not consistent, mind you, but sufficient to take fairly accurate measures. Despite that, he does not know how to read or write."

"What?! Excuse my outburst, Hokage-sama."

"You may speak freely, Iruka."

"My thanks, Hokage-sama. How it is that he can draw his chakra and has great potential, but he is illiterate? Has no one taught him? My apologies, but I find that impossible."

"I would agree with you, Iruka. Nevertheless, he is illiterate. His parents were both killed five years ago," he said carefully, watching memories flicker across Iruka's face, "and was placed in the orphanages.

"There was a lot of confusion in those early weeks and years, and the boy somehow slipped through the cracks. It has only been brought to my attention fairly recently, but the situation is not unsalvageable."

"I am still amazed anything like this could have happened, Hokage-sama. Didn't he have anyone? Other relations or family friends? Also, just how old is the boy?"

"Though I am certain there were friends of the family at the time, sadly that cannot be said today. From my understanding, they all believed him dead or vanished; as for your other question, he is going on six."

Iruka began choking on his tea. "Six? Most children slated for the Academy begin around age two or three! Ah, for..."

Sarutobi held up his hand. "Nothing to forgive, Iruka, and I am just as vexed. I did say you could speak freely."

Iruka nodded his thanks and took a thoughtful sip. "If I may ask, Hokage-sama, what is his name?"

"Therein lies the test, Iruka. I will not place a preconception upon you, as that may bias the results. Suffice it to say, both of his parents were valuable friends and powerful shinobi. It is truly a shame I am asking this of you, instead of speaking with them about how well their son is doing in his studies. Not that I do not enjoy the company, Iruka."

That got a knowing nod. "I understand, Hokage-sama, and agree. This is a double-blind then. He does not know me, and I do not know him." Sarutobi nodded.

"I accept, Hokage-sama. It is as you say, a good test of my abilities."

"I was hoping you would agree. As I said, he is going on six and is illiterate. Truth to tell, he is currently learning how to speak as well," above the sound of Iruka choking, he continued, "so he will need very beginner texts, but use your discretion.

"He is intelligent and almost completely uneducated; it would not be wise to insult his lacking. This will be a C rank mission, duration of three months. Though miracles would be very much appreciated, I will accept functional literacy by the time the Academy begins in November. Your future career options hinge upon how well you can teach the untaught."

"C rank, Hokage-sama?"

"Indeed. Due to his parentage, there might be some who would risk kidnapping or injuring the boy. And before you ask, he does not know of his parents. This is for his safety until such time as he can defend himself or his situation changes. Both of his parents were rather well known in certain circles, and there are groups out there that would love to get their hands on him if his true identity was revealed."

"By your leave then, Hokage-sama. I thank you for the tea and I will begin my preparations."

"Dismissed."_ 'I expect good things from this, Iruka. I hope you do not disappoint.'_

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They had stopped first at Ichiraku's Ramen Bar for takeout, since Dingo's Dango Hut had both counter stools, bench-table seating, and was covered by a large awning. Ichiraku's had a short awning and only counter seating. Ocelot waited around the corner as Anko ducked inside with Naruto.

Anko shouted out, "Old Man! We need some take-out ramen!"

Teuchi looked up from his boiling pot and saw the blond head of Naruto next to someone he knew only from reputation. Wiping his hands on his apron, he approached the counter and leaned slightly against it, unseen fingers hovering over a panic button.

"Ah yes, welcome to Ichiraku's Ramen Bar. We have a fairly large selection available. And Naruto-kun, you never told me about this friend."

Anko looked between the two and felt something off. "Mitarashi Anko, Naruto's chaperon for the day. Perhaps you know his other escort?"

"Ocelot-san? Ah, there she is," as Ocelot made herself briefly visible, "and my apologies. Can never be too careful with Naruto-kun, now can we. If you'll forgive me, I must tend the noodles. Ayame, counter."

"Hai, Tou-san." A brown haired girl about ten or so came up from the back rooms. "What can I get for you today?"

Anko was about to order when she felt a tug on her jacket. Looking down showed a nervous, sort of serious looking Naruto, staring up at her. She crouched to his level, his eyes never leaving hers. "Yes?"

Though she could tell he was twitchy about something, he never took his gaze elsewhere and swallowed thickly. "Anko-san, they are precious to me and very im..important. They are like..." He stopped, looked askance and scowled.

'What the hell is he babbling about and what's with the nerves? It's like he's introducing me..to..his..I get it.' "Like family?"

That got an enthusiastic nod and a grunt. "I am afraid for them sometimes. I don't want them to have my pain training fro...be-because of me."

"I get it, so...anything else or can I order already?" _'What does he mean by pain training? It had better not be those stairs.'_

He turned his face downward and said, "I think that maybe Teuchi-san is upset, for, um, from shouting."

"What? He's not up..look, what do you want, brat! Want me to apologize or something?"

Though he kept his face down, his eyes flicked up and Anko was subjected to an unintentional Puppy Eye technique, accompanied by a very gentle, "Please?"

There was a long moment before Anko finally scowled, glanced around, scowled again and hissed out, "Fine!"

He looked up then and gave her a megawatt grin. "I will give you space so you can. I will wait." He nodded once, stepped a few feet to the side, folded his hands in front of him, and began waiting.

Anko blinked, looked down, and then looked back up at Naruto, who in turn smiled at her encouragingly. She stood abruptly, took a petulant step towards the counter and flicked her eyes over at the little bastard again before facing forward.

She hesitated and saw him from the corner of her eye. He still had his patient eyes on her and sort of tilted his head a bit to the side. When she didn't move, his right eyebrow rose up slightly, then dipped on one side. She cleared her throat.

Ayame was still waiting with her pad while Teuchi spoke up from his pots without looking up. "Something the matter, Mitarashi-san?"

"Um," she gave another quick glance to Naruto, "I would like to, um, like to ap-apologize if my behavior or," she took a deep breath, "attitude offended." _'That brat is sooooo going to owe me!'_

Her fists were clenched and her gaze was down. She felt a presence move in front of her, on the kitchen side, and waited for the slurs which usually came, thanks to her traitorous sensei.

Teuchi pitched his voice just for Anko. "Apology accepted, Mitarashi-san. Worry not, this will go no further. Reputations are very hard to gain and so easy to lose."

Her head snapped up at that and she gave him one of her very rare smiles. "I'd appreciate that, Ichiraku-san. You may call me Anko."

"You may call me Teuchi, Anko-san. Some advice? Try not to scowl so much as it creates stress and lines. You don't want a face like a map, right? So maybe, maybe a smirk, perhaps, would be a good alternative, yes?"

She gave a lopsided grin and said, "Thank you, Teuchi-san. I think I will take that advice. Now then, give the brat a beef special and for me, well, to tell the truth, I've never had this stuff before, so I guess, um, surprise me."

Teuchi nodded and went back to his noodles as Ayame went to gather more ingredients. Anko was very relieved nobody else had seen that public display. She felt a small hand touch her own, which she allowed to open and close around Naruto's.

"This is take-out, correct?"

"Hai, brat and me have a bet going about what's better: ramen or dango. So we'll grab this to-go then head over there. No offense, but you really don't have enough space."

He smiled and nodded. "By design. We don't want customers to move so far away that they cannot smell our quality dishes over the sweaty squalor of mere pedestrians. Tell me, what will you do when Naruto is proven right?"

She snorted and stated, "Well, I'll still eat dango, but I might drop by occasionally for a bowl or two. Maybe. I'm a hard woman to please, _Teuchi-kun_, and even harder to impress."

Teuchi gave one of his rare hearty laughs, which caused Ayame to poke her head back around a corner and smile broadly. "Order's up, on the house."

"Trying to bribe me, Old Man?"

He waved away the allegation. "You are a friend of Naruto-kun. You are welcome here, even with dango. Enjoy your meal."

Her face went slack for a moment, incredulous, before a soft smile formed on her lips. With a nod of respect, she collected the cartons and stepped outside the awning. Ocelot fell in step as they moved towards Dingo's, taking up Naruto's other hand.

Ocelot came to a stop ten feet from the awning covered space. "Naruto-kun is not exactly welcome here. Hand me the cartons and place your orders. Naruto and I will be at the furthest table from the counter."

Anko frowned a bit at the statement, then complied with a nod. "I'll be right back. Prepare to be amazed, brat. And, um, I can understand why you consider them family." She gave his hand a slight squeeze, then left to place the orders.

Ocelot found the table she wanted and removed her mask as she sat. She then opened a pouch and pulled out a tape measure and notepad, then a pen from her vest. She flicked the pages briefly, then said, "Okay, Naruto-kun, time for unpleasant things. Stand over here, arms out and legs spread so I can get your measurements."

He did as he said with a sigh. "Don't worry, Naruto-kun. We will make certain they do not disappear this time. That is a promise."

Anko came to the table with several platters of dango skewers. "Gotcha the Newbie Platter; it's an assortment of some of the best selections. Clothing?" She got a nod.

"While we eat, we'll start some learning. You know hand seals yet?" He shook his head. "Can you tie knots?" Taking a seat, Anko set the platter in the middle, then pulled her ramen container closer.

He nodded, and once Ocelot was done, he dug out an eight inch piece of cord and handed it to Anko. Rubbing her thumb along it, she said, "We'll have to get you more types of cord, rope and other materials. They all differ in physical properties and how well they handle knots.

"Learning how to create and untie knots helps with finger and wrist dexterity and flexibility, both of which are very important in the formation of hand seals. It also makes a good foundation for escapement techniques. Show me what you can do while we eat. Bite, tie knot, swallow, show. Got it?"

While they ate the opposition first, Naruto displayed the knots he knew which Kurama-sensei had taught him. Anko looked at Ocelot, who nodded while pulling dango from a wooden skewer.

"Okay brat, first things first. This is some mighty good grub. Though not superior to dango, I might just have to try some more of Teuchi-san's menu to make up my mind. Now we'll switch foods and I'll begin the lesson. This seal is called Rat."


	6. End of a Long Day

Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Kishimoto Masashi.

* * *

Ocelot had excused herself halfway through the impromptu lesson, leaving Anko and Naruto at Dingo's so that she could continue her part of the mission. The attitudes of some in the village towards Anko were not as bad as towards Naruto, but did serve to anger the mercurial girl, so it was left to Ocelot to perform some of the shopping and supply forays.

Anko had earned a reputation for being brutally efficient on the field; consequently, very few instigators would actually approach or physically provoke her. This in itself did not diminish her reputation among the civilian populace. Things trickled down though, and most learned to avoid her.

There was one, however, who was insistent on messing with the infamous Mitarashi. He crept slowly and with great deliberation in a low crawl, sliding forward on his belly by small increments.

He was the Alpha, leader of the Pack and he was hunting for certain prey as he moved through the small forest of bench-tables. _'There!'_ he thought, as he raised his makeshift spyglass. _'Let's see what yours looks like.'_

Anko had spied the little leather-clad kid, male most likely, as he slid and crawled beneath benches and around the bent poles which connect them to their tabletops. She ignored him for the most part, assuming he was 'Playing Ninja' with some friends nearby, and went back to demonstrating seals for Naruto.

Since each of the primary seals represented a specific month, once he went through the entire set once, Anko began calling out a particular month to which he would have to form the proper seal. Once he got those down, she started on the mythology and its allegorical animals linked to each seal and month.

It was then she noticed the reflection of light and tracked it back to the brown boy on the dirt not too far away, who had a cardboard tube with glass taped to the end pointed at her. Seeing how Naruto was seated opposite her, she saw that the boy had used Naruto's body as a blind or shield.

It really didn't take much thought to understand what the little snot was up to and with complete conservation of motion, she scooped up three empty dango skewers and flicked them downward, just off of Naruto's left.

**FutFutFut**

An indignant shout came from behind Naruto, who turned and saw a brown boy staring at a tube of some sort, which had been pierced through and nailed to the ground with three wooden skewers. He had unruly brown hair, wore brown leather clothes and had a brown face, though Naruto figured that was probably from the dirt.

He noted the odd eyes, sharp teeth and feral look and turned back to Anko. "Demon family?" he asked softly, pitching his voice low.

The question shook Anko out of her glare and she gave a 'later' motion to Naruto. Turning back to the brown boy, she grated out, "Just what the hell do you think you were doing, shitstain?!"

"Whut? Nuthin! You owe me a spyglass, crazy lady!" The skewers went deeper than he thought, as he struggled to free his cardboard tube.

"Spyglass, eh? And what were you trying to spying on, ya little creep?" She noted Naruto's stance, and shot him 'peace' and 'relax' signs.

"None yer beeswax! I don't hafta ansa to the likes of you!"

"You were trying to look up my skirt, weren't you!" She noted that several of the tables around had cleared.

"Liar! I was not and you can't prove it!"

"You were. You were trying to look at my panties, weren't you!" Sensing that Naruto was still a bit agitated, she shifted into Hostage 2, Non-combative Support Posture. Subconsciously, he began to relax, despite the volume.

"Nuh-uhn! Can't prove it!"

"Well, I got a news flash for ya, brat, I don't wear any!"

The boy's eyes got wide and he rose up slightly, trying to pull his spyglass free to check. He forgot, however, that he was currently under a bench, and when he moved upwards, his head met with the wooden underside with a loud hollow 'thunk', before he dropped bonelessly into the dirt.

Anko snorted, then made a calming motion towards the very puzzled Naruto. "Hana-chan! Oi, Hana-chan! I think I found what you lost!"

Within moments, a pretty girl in her late teens, wearing an olive Chuunin vest, ran up, followed by three large dogs. "Oh, hey there Anko-chan. Have you seen Kiba? Brat slipped his leash again and scampered off somewhere."

"Oh, yes, I've seen him. Little cretin's down there. Knocked himself out while trying to peek up my skirt."

Hana's eyes narrowed. "That is _it_! This is the sixth time today, and it's not even noon! Sorry for the trouble, Anko-chan. I'll take him home."

She turned back at the sound of growls, finding the Triplets hunkered down low, their backs bristled. It was when she glanced back at Anko that she spotted the little boy, who had half turned and was frozen in fright, staring back at the dogs. Her eyes began to narrow to slits when her field of vision was filled with Anko, blocking her view of the Kyuubi-brat.

"Call them off." The command was simple, silken and smooth, delivered from an apparently incredibly calm Anko. "Call them off. I like you, but I won't ask again."

A very calm Anko was enough to snap Hana from her thoughts. Her eyes flickered between the demon, Anko and the street, and she nodded.

**"Be calm child. They smell me in you. The snake mistress will not let them harm you."**

_'Kurama-sensei! Where..'_

**"Resting, boy. I've been working with and on you for almost three hundred hours straight. I needed to recharge. I am pleased that you remembered your 'inside' voice. We will resume our lessons soon. In the meantime, calm yourself."**

"It was...good seeing you again, Anko." She pulled Kiba out from under the bench by his neck, then gripped the back of his jacket and hauled him to the street. "Come, we're leaving!"

Watching her friend's back as she dragged her brother away with the Triplets, Anko sighed. Even with her brashness, she could tell when someone was being rude.

_'Well, that's another friendship down the crapper,_' she thought, before Anko turned to Naruto and said what was starting to become a mantra, "Not your fault. Come, we have our own things to do."

He moved to stand, eyes on the ground as he held up his hand. She held it in her own, took a step, then spun him into her, crouching low.

"Look at me, Naruto. There's a lot of stupid, angry, ugly, mean and hateful people in this place, but you can't let it get to you. If you do, they _win_ and if they win, they will _never_ let you forget that they are better than you. So you just have to be better than them and prove 'em wrong; but before that, thicken that skin and don't let the pain show."

His eyes had been locked on her and he slowly nodded. "You too? They do this to you?"

She was silently shocked and did her best not to show it. Not trusting her voice, she simply nodded once, stood slowly, and tugged his hand.

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It was a silent walk to his apartment complex. She had become passingly familiar with the layout yesterday, as her summons had led her all over the place, although some rooms had much older Naruto scents than others. It had taken her some time to calm down after she found the boy's scent not just on the handrails for the various stairways, but also on the steps and not in a pattern which would indicate him being barefoot.

She knew from her training and summons that the strongest scents come from direct skin contact, which was why clothing worn closest to the skin was the preferred object to begin a tracking operation. She had gathered a pretty good picture of some of the things which had gone on here, as there were some fairly recent Naruto scents on the exterior fire escape on every single step, but not one scent on the handrail which was his: someone had tumbled him down the steps several times in a row.

She also knew about the body, buried in a shallow grave about forty feet away on the edges of a neglected park. Those two scents, Naruto and the lady, came from the only apartment which the boy had not been in for the past month, and was the only one with intact furnishings. Except for the boy, the complex was vacant.

Perhaps if the Hokage knew, he could secure the property for the boy, and wouldn't that really shake things up. One of the requirements for the Civilian Council, or Lesser House, except for certain governmental positions, was commercial property ownership in excess of a specific square-footage.

Naruto was oddly hesitant when it came to his splintered door. "Sorry. I have some mess and no place to sit...seat you." His eyes skittered around the floor.

"How are you feeling? Honestly. Describe what you are feeling."

"Anger, sad and something, something like I should have something for you but don't."

_'Not sorrow. Not embarrassed or his left hand would be rising already. Clenched fists and rigid stance. Oh.'_ "Naruto-kun...can I call you that?" A terse nod. "Naruto-kun, you are feeling shame."

"Shame?"

"Yeah. But you know, you don't have to. Feel shame, I mean. Look, it's not your fault, okay?" Her own hands clenched and loosened, then she nodded.

"Okay brat, come here, but if you tell a soul," she threatened as she pulled him into a tight hug, "you tell a soul about me doing this and I will summon my thinnest snake and send it up your nose so it can bite your brain and lay eggs and then baby snakes will spill out your eyes and ears. And I don't think you want that."

There was a snort or two from her midriff. She noted that his own hands had stayed clenched at his sides. "Okay, you okay now? Good. Show me your kitchen, we gotta make a list of things to get you big and strong, okay?"

He stepped away from her, dragging an arm over his eyes briefly and nodded. He took two steps, turned to the right and pointed.

_'You gotta be kidding me. This place is crap! I've seen better in raided border towns.'_ "O-kay. Huh. Um, can you tell or show me what you normally eat? I know you really like ramen and all, and also that you don't eat Teuchi's stuff all the time. So what else is there?"

He nodded and walked over to one of the lower cupboards, opened it, crouched low and partially crawled inside. He came back out with a plastic glass, then turned to the sink, rising on his tiptoes to turn the spigot. He turned back and gave an embarrassed grin to the stunned Anko.

"Um..sorry. I think water is out. Let me check." He opened the cupboard beneath the sink, grabbed a short length of pipe, and struck it against the water lines. "Water out here, but next door might have. I get you some."

"Wait...wait, Naruto-kun are you telling me that this is what you normally eat? Alright, well, at least now we know. You know how to cook?"

He shook his head, curling into himself at the disappointment in her voice. Anko, in a private rant, didn't notice. She blew out a puff of air, causing one of her dark locks to dance as she scowled at what she saw.

_'The kid lives off of tap water and the occasional noodle bowl?! What the hell! I'm surprised the kid isn't potbellied and terminal...at least that furball is good for something._

_'Huh, I don't think that old lady would mind all that much if we were to borrow some things on his behalf. Anything is better than this crap.'_

It was then she noticed Naruto's emotional state, which snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Hey, hey what's wrong?" All she got was mutterings of 'sorry'. "Hey, I'm not, um...man, this is complicated, as if I'm not messed up enough. Look, kid, I'm not mad at you, if that's what you think, just _this_." She emphasized with a wide sweep of her hand.

That seemed to have uncurled him a little bit, as she continued in a warmer fashion. "Don't worry about it kid. We'll take care of ya. For the now though, you work on your seals and I'll start on a list."

She paused, and fished out some cord from an inside coat pocket. "Hey, before you do that though, check this out. It's called Cat's Cradle."

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It was a little past noon when Ocelot arrived, her mask on her belt and several parcels in her arms. There was a brief frown on her face at the living conditions, or lack thereof, which was quickly hidden.

She noted Anko was teaching Naruto more knots and string games.

"How is everything? I brought lunch. I also got you some things, Naruto. We'll go over them after we eat. Anko, do you have a list for me?"

As they ate, Anko, in soft tones, told Ocelot of the Inuzuka gathering, minus the Kiba conversations, and the current living conditions for the daily report they would need to file, in addition to the weekly and monthly summaries.

She made very sure to mention psychological issues, with code phrases for possible Hostage or Fast Trust procedures they could use.

After Naruto had finished eating, Ocelot asked, "Where do you normally sleep, Naruto?"

His first attempt to answer ended in a bout of coughing. "Sorry, talking is tiring." he croaked out. "Can you keep a secret?"

At the smiling nod from Ocelot and a grinning thumbs-up from Anko, he felt a strange, yet pleasant, feeling spread through his chest. He turned towards the cupboards and dug into the back of one, his small body almost disappearing inside of it.

He returned with an old out-of-date calendar, which he presented to Ocelot with a blush. He turned away and began to climb onto the counter, using opened drawers and cupboard shelves as steps. Unseen by him, Anko moved into a better position to catch him should he fall.

Wedging himself into a corner, he pushed up on a ceiling panel and slid it to the side. Behind it, suspended on wire loops, was a wooden shoe box. Naruto carefully removed it, stuck it on a shelf, and began working his way back down.

He turned and was surprised to see Ocelot right there. He had been too focused on his task to even see either of the ladies.

"Ready to come down?" Naruto nodded slowly, seeing his calendar tucked under her arm.

Once back on the floor, given there were no furnishings in this apartment, he removed a thin piece of wire from the underside of the box. This he slid into a small hole found on the side of the lid.

Nodding to the sensation he felt, he carefully pulled off the lid. Held in check by the wire was a salvaged clock spring, fitted with tied-on razor blades. He didn't see the ladies exchange significant looks on seeing his trap.

When he turned back to them from this task, he found them with expectant smiles. The one he forming on his own lips felt strange and different, and the warm feeling was back.

Carefully reaching inside the box, he pulled out several thick stacks of currency notes and some oddly colored stones. Every item was presented for their inspection. This was the first time anyone had seen his stash, so this was important.

The final items were a heavy key ring and a dart. He held out his hands for the calendar. "I show you trick now.

"Rooms have numbers like the keys like the cal..calendar. So I throw the dart and the day I hit is the room I use. Except for six. I don't go there no more."

"Old lady's place, right?" His eyes became wide and panicked. "Whoa, calm down kid. My snake told me, alright? You're not in any kind of trouble."

She flicked one of the bills stacks with a skewer, the action distracting Naruto from his momentary distress. "What's with all this?"

They both noted that all the bills were oriented the same way, the edges even. How they were wrapped, though, was not with the standard material.

"Money from Jijii, but can't use." He saw their looks and tried again. "Can use but not let..allowed to use. Outside, can't use, except Teuchi-sama. Rest won't let me inside."

The mental list of things for the report kept growing, and Anko started jotting more notes on the back of the grocery list. It was Ocelot who said, "We'll take care of you, Naruto. Now, before we go further, where will you be sleeping tonight so we can protect you? By the way, that is a pretty smart way of doing things, with the calendar and dart. You just keep surprising us, don't you?"

He blushed and grinned, setting up the calendar, closing his eyes, and tossing the dart. "Room two four."

"Very good, Naruto. Do you need help putting your secret box back?"

He stared at Ocelot owlishly. "You help me?"

"Only if you want us to, Naruto. This is your very special box, which is why we are asking if you would let us help you. I know if that was mine or Anko's box, we'd expect someone to ask us first as well."

They waited, silent, while Naruto slowly repacked his shoe box, rearmed the trap and stored the key. From his visible expressions, he was thinking hard. Then, without looking at Ocelot, he raised it up for her to take.

With sure motions, she repositioned his box on the loops and slid the tile back, before crouching down to hug Naruto from behind. If Anko hadn't been positive that her braying laughter would've spooked the kid, the face of surprise and panic he presented might have sent her rolling.

"Thank you for your trust, Naruto-kun. That really means a lot to me." She gave him another slow squeeze, allowing him more time to acclimate to the motion.

Releasing him, she stood, tousling the boy's hair without a reaction, testament of his frazzled state.

"Now then, I have some clothing and other supplies for you. I'll need to you try them on so we can see if everything fits right, okay?"

She pitched her voice to Anko. "Anko-san, do you know how to make storage seals? No? Okay, I'll set up a few in his bedroom here while you show him how to seal and unseal items from a spare storage scroll. Make sure it's one you don't mind losing, just in case. We can always replace it later."

As Anko readied the lesson from her superior, Ocelot smiled down at Naruto, giving him a little nudge. "These seals I'll make for you are very simple, Naruto. The downside with being simple is that anyone can unseal the contents, but at least your items won't be out in the open and as easily stolen."

Naruto practiced on one of Anko's spare scrolls while the storage arrays were being created in his bedroom's closet floor, before Anko helped him unpack the parcels.

She watched him carefully, seeing his eyes flicker over what his profile stated were his favorite colors, orange being one of them. He then turned to her with a serious expression.

"How do squeeze thing again?"

"A hug?" At his nod, she thought of her normal ones, which were usually side hugs, those that she gave.

She demonstrated on him, moving slowly as she gripped his far shoulder across his back and squeezed. "This is a side hug, which is different than the others we've given you."

He nodded in understanding, still wearing that serious expression. "Get her?" His right hand twitched towards the back rooms. "Um, please?"

Still watching his face, she called back, "Hey, Ocelot-san? Kid needs you for something."

She poked her head around the corner, then slowly approached the boy, seeing his serious expression. She knelt down within arm's length and asked, "Yes, Naruto-kun?"

He glanced sideways at Anko, in about the same manner as she did to him back at the ramen stand, before shuffling over to Ocelot's side. He turned to face Anko, and draped his arm across Ocelot's back. His shorter limb didn't reach that far, but she understood what he was doing.

"Like this, Anko-san?" he asked lowly.

"Heh, yep, just like that kiddo." She grinned encouragingly at him, still curious as towards what else he would do.

He nodded briskly, and his hand found its way on her left shoulder, near where he stood. "Thank you, Ocelot-san, for, for all this." He coughed roughly into his left fist. "Sorry, throat still rough."

Ocelot smiled broadly at the boy, draping her own arm across his back, to give his far shoulder a squeeze. "You are very welcome, Naruto-kun. Do you like the colors?"

"Very much." He stepped away from her touch and shuffled over to Anko, where he repeated the process. Despite her nature, she made certain to remain still and open so he wouldn't be spooked.

"Thank you, Anko-san, for knots and string games."

Returning the side hug, she nodded at him with a grin, dipping her head to catch his eye, before giving him a thumbs-up with her other hand. She hadn't been thanked for much in her young life, and had no other way to respond.

Ocelot spoke for the both of them, knowing a bit more of Anko's background. "That was very polite of you, Naruto-kun. It's good to be appreciated, yes?" At his shy nod, having moved away from Anko by a few steps, she continued, "Since we're all here, we'll need you to try on these clothes, so we can take back which doesn't fit."

Naruto being so emotive and physical, when he used to be very standoffish, would definitely be making it into her report.

This was her first time being this close to Konoha's jinchuuriki. Being Naruto's escort was one thing, but being this involved with his life was another, and she was determined to treat him not just as a child, but as a human as well.

Too many of her peers, even now, saw him as little more than an animal, based on spurious accounts from some of his tutors. If she wasn't before, she was now committed to changing this view.

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Around 15:00 Anko left to go shopping, as she knew a few grocers who didn't mind her being there. Ocelot, left with Naruto, first did a review on unsealing, using a newly created scroll, given that Anko's had been destroyed.

The teen in question wasn't too distraught, knowing that the cost of replacement would come from village coffers, but it did create new teaching opportunities. First and foremost, would be chakra control exercises.

Leaves refused to stick, except for one, which was stuck into the wall of the kitchen. Small bits of paper were only marginally more successful, in that none of them became lodged into the thin walls. It was then that Ocelot stumbled upon a serendipitous moment, one which would combine human contact with control exercises.

The boy's chakra capacity was not only vast, though Ocelot wasn't sure how much of that was due to his tenant. It was also, according the Naruto, sluggish and thick, after Ocelot spent some time listing off adjectives. It was as if his energy was a jar of honey, upended, the air bubbles moving slowly through the viscous stuff being his intent and control.

Towards this end, she engaged him in Wall Dancing, as it were. It was akin to Wall Standing, only he had to hold her hands as she slowly walked him up, down and sideways. He wasn't quite ready yet for diagonal. Still, it served as a control technique as well as acclimation to physical touch.

She couldn't help but feel pride at his progress, despite her professionalism trying to promote emotional distance. In her mind, this child had already tasted enough of that; he needed more positive experiences to balance the bad.

It was slow going, but she didn't mind, finding a modicum of delight in how Naruto's eyes would track her hair as it framed her mismatched eyes and swayed to their steps. This was not to say she was unaware of her surroundings, fully prepared to let Naruto drop the few feet if needs be. He might lose his breath, but that was preferable to other outcomes.

Ocelot had sensed the Chuunin when the quad was entered. She was reminded that she needed to emphasize the physical state of this apartment block. None of the others were this neglected. Before he had finished climbing the outside steps, her mask was back in place.

"A stranger comes, Naruto. Remember the mask lesson?" she asked softly

"A reminder, right?" Her wearing the mask meant possible trouble.

"Correct. Keep calm, and follow my lead."

"Um, hello there. I am Umino Iruka," he greeted, having knocked on the doorframe. Seeing the door propped up on a nearby wall, and the conditions of the apartment had shocked him a bit. He never thought he'd see such a thing in Konoha, of all places.

"I am supposed to be meeting a new student at this address by order of the Hokage. I am to be his literacy tutor for the next three months. Here is my mission scroll." He started as he saw a masked ANBU standing on the wall with a child.

"Umino-san, I am Ocelot, ANBU. We will be right with you." Turning her head back to Naruto, she whispered, "Down we go now, Naruto-san, nice and easy. Can you feel your chakra move? Yes? Good, you are doing a very good job.

"You've made a lot of progress today. Anko and I are both very proud of you."

On the inside of his mind, vast fields of flowers burst into view. On the outside, Naruto had reached the floor and had quickly regained his footing, Ocelot appearing besides him. He looked at the latest tutor and sighed softly. He figured this one would be like the others and began to prepare himself for pain exercises again. He watched as Ocelot stood before the man, read the scroll and nodded.

"Naruto-kun, this is Umino Iruka-san, your new tutor sent by the Hokage. He is here to help with your reading, writing and speech skills. Be good for him. I will be right outside."

Turning to Iruka, she said, "Have you need of anything, do not hesitate to ask. He is a bit shy though a quick study. Be patient with him and you will see it as well. I will grant you privacy." With that, she slipped out of the doorway and went around the corner.

Iruka's confusion at this odd scenario was quickly morphing into something else, but this was a mission, and one did not show their emotions on a mission lest their emotions cloud judgment or endanger the mission. This was a Shinobi Rule. He schooled his features and tried to calm his mind, though a part of him was adamant that the Hokage had set him up for failure.

Iruka knew that wasn't the truth and was quick to realize that this was indeed the ultimate test. He was to teach the untaught that none wanted taught, putting aside personal feelings and bias, tempering the mind, demonstrating patience; this was the test. Tamping down on his feelings, he walked into the small apartment and knelt into a seated position in front of the standing child.

"Please, Uzumaki-kun, have a seat. As stated, I will be your tutor for the next three months, preparing you for entrance into the Shinobi Academy. I am Umino Iruka, Chuunin, currently on medical leave from the Hunters."

He waited while Naruto took a seated position. "Now, I need to know what you know. Tell me of your skills thus far."

"I..I know more words than before and..and can talk some. Can not read or write yet but soon. Can do some math in my head. Jijii.."

"Who?"

"Jijii. The old man in the tower."

"Hokage-sama?" Iruka asked, becoming incensed at the tentative nod. "You will call him Hokage-sama."

"But..."

There was a fleshy sound and Naruto's head whipped to the side. "He will be addressed as Hokage-sama. There are no 'buts'."

"Jij..."

His head was whipped the other direction from the backhand. "Ho-ka-ge-sa-ma. Now say it correctly."

**"Be at ease, boy. Consider this a pain lesson. This tutor will be gone soon enough. I will resume our lessons on the morrow, but rest assured that I will not let him go too far, little one."**

The only sound was the pit-pit of blood dripping on the bare floor. Naruto kept his head bowed and eyes down, waiting for this lesson to be done. So far, the definition of 'tutor' was not living up to his personal experiences.

Something snapped inside of Iruka. This demon wearing human skin was acting meek, bowing his head as if showing him respect? This was the same demon who had killed his parents.

In a detached manner, feeling a little bit of guilt from striking a child, even if the skin was being worn like a coat, Iruka saw his right hand flick out, catching the demon under the chin. The small body twisted in the air, creating spiderweb-like cracks in the cheap plaster as the far wall was hit head-first.

Then there was a weight on his back, his right arm now twisted painfully behind him. A blow shook his brain, and his vision went dark.

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Sarutobi was watching the clock, only a portion of his attention on the paperwork before him. Soon, he would leave the office and make a quick trip to Naruto's apartment to see what Ocelot and Anko had done for the boy. Yes, there would be the report in the morning, but it wouldn't hurt to check.

There was a twinge of guilt at not having visited Naruto in several months, versus having the boy escorted to the Tower. There was also a sense of something. It wasn't that he didn't trust the boy's current handlers, far from it, but there were files being uncovered which spoke of a fairly long and consistent history of things.

These ranged from very minor or small abuses, to vandalism, the hurling of foodstuffs, the chases, and on up to big things like beatings...things which had never been _officially_ reported. Individually, they varied in unpleasantness, but add them all together and, well, Sarutobi was surprised the boy still knew how to truly smile. At least, he hoped it was a true smile.

There was a knock on his door and Yoshinibi poked her head inside the office. "Pardon the intrusion, Hokage-sama. Your personal presence is requested in Interrogation."

"Really. Hrm, well, then I should be going then. You should go as well, Yoshinibi-san. You did very well today, and I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow. You are clear for the night."

She blushed prettily and bowed at the waist. "Thank you, Hokage-sama. I will strive not to disappoint." She exited the office and locked up as Sarutobi flickered away to Ibiki's office.

"Report." He exited the office and began walking towards the holding cells.

Ibiki handed Sarutobi an open folder. "Shortly after 17:00, there was a report that one Umino Iruka did physically assault the person of Uzumaki Naruto. Arresting officer, Ocelot, was on patrol outside the apartment.

"She was under the impression that Umino-san was there under your orders as a tutor for Uzumaki-san. Uzumaki-san is being treated at the scene by Ocelot, and Umino-san is in Holding Cell 3."

"Very well. Let's get this over with." Ibiki opened the door to the cell and the Hokage strode inside, white robes billowing. "Medic?"

"Standing by, Hokage-sama."

"Clerk?"

"Standing by, Hokage-sama."

"Remove his hood."

"Hai."

The sight which greeted Iruka once the hood was removed was not one he wanted to repeat. He was tied very securely to a chair and could feel the chakra restraints to prevent any creative uses of Body Switches or other Escapement techniques; the worst aspect was having his Hokage standing before his bolted down chair with a look of extreme disappointment.

"Iruka, would you mind telling me why it is that you are in this building in that chair?"

"Hokage-sama! I have failed you and humbly apologize. I saw that _thing_ mock..."

A backhand impacted the right side of his face and things slowed down. He saw the saddened look on the Hokage's motionless face as his hand followed through the strike only to catch something in the air. Time and pain quickly resumed as the Hokage held up one of Iruka's teeth. He watched in a detached manner as the medic came up from the right side of the Hokage and took the tooth from him, placing it on a wheeled metal cart.

"I'm sorry, Iruka. Perhaps I have misheard you. Would you mind terribly repeating that statement? Maybe you should start from the beginning."

Seeing that Umino's face was swelling, he turned to the presiding medic. "Just enough for him to speak."

With professional detachment, a glowing green hand hovered over his dislocated jaw, as the other hand shifted it back into position.

Iruka was beginning to really panic. Not only was he in Interrogation, but he had also been struck by his own Hokage. "I met Ocelot-san and Uzumaki-kun at his residence. Having introduced myself and informed him of my duty, we had seated when I requested he tell me of his current skills. When he insulted you, I strove to correct him and..."

"Stop. Clarify that point, if you would. How exactly did he insult me?"

"He, he referred to you in a very familiar fashion, which is an insult coming from his social caste."

"Ah, I see. Did you explain why you were offended or did you permit him to explain why he called me so familiarly?"

There was a pause. "No, no I did not, Hokage-sama. He tried and I struck him for being insubordinate and persistent in calling you 'Jijii'."

"I think I understand that part. However, that does not excuse what you did. Perhaps a compromise or explanation would have been better received, seeing how the boy is a neglected orphan who was never taught polite societal ways, something a _teacher_ was going to impart in a conducive atmosphere."

Sarutobi paced before the bound man. "Perhaps I overestimated you, Iruka. Perhaps I am the one who has made the mistake in this. Perhaps you would be better suited in an administrative assistant position in a Fire-Earth border posting. Tell me, Iruka, what are your thoughts on this?"

"Please, Hokage-sama, please. I'll do anything. I had a bad moment and reacted in a horrible way. Please, Hokage-sama!"

Sarutobi stopped and gave Iruka a long hard look. "I'm removing you from this assignment. You are on probation, Umino Iruka, pending reassignment. You will continue to tutor Uzumaki Naruto under a one-third D rank pay grade as part of your probation and I will see positive results or you will be sent to the border.

"If young Uzumaki excels, so too will you. Your destiny is linked to his for the next three months. Prove to me that this is not a mistake on my part, and this...situation will be recorded as a mild reprimand."

"I, I submit to your will, Hokage-sama."

"I heard that from you once before. Do not fail me in this." Sarutobi turned and walked away, stopping by Ibiki. "Superficial, no bones or organs, fifteen minutes. Then fix his tooth. Ibiki, walk with me?"

"You heard the man. Keep it professional people." He turned and followed Sarutobi outside the holding cell, the door closing on the sounds of meaty hits.

"Your thoughts, Ibiki?" Sarutobi asked as they walked down the hall towards his office.

"He'll be a good teacher, he has a knack for it, and will be a valuable asset to this village in that capacity. But first he needs to pull his head out of his ass."

"Agreed. What do you think of Mitarashi?"

"Good head on her shoulders, can be rather temperamental, is brutal on the field and loyal to a fault. You make her short list and she'd walk on fire for you."

"How do you feel about an apprentice?"

They reached Ibiki's office and stood outside, Ibiki still in thought. "I'll think about it more after I put her through the Grinder. Have her report to me at 04:00 at Public Benevolence Hostel, building three if you would. I have paperwork thanks to that fool of a dolphin. This means you'll have paperwork by 07:00. Enjoy the rest of your evening, Hokage-sama."

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Teuchi was sitting in his small study, waiting for his guest to arrive. A message had arrived an hour ago, and preparations had been made. He heard the door chimes with five minutes to spare, sending his daughter head down to greet their guest. He rose from his comfortable chair and consulted his notes, making the last few arrangements. Tonight, things just might fall in his favor.

"Ah, so you finally decided to show your face, eh? I've been looking forward to this beating for quite some time. Ayame-chan, tea for our guest and then off to bed with you."

"Oh, are you so arrogant to believe you can best me? And thank you, Ayame-chan. You are a good daughter."

"Best you? Best you? You jest! The only thing old monkeys are good at is flinging their own poo!" Teuchi watched as his daughter's face colored from Sarutobi's praise.

"I will make sure you live long enough to regret that," said Sarutobi as he slid into a low defensive position, before slipping into a comfortable overstuffed chair, opposite Teuchi's and gazed at the shogi board, "now, where were we, noodle-head?"

Teuchi grinned and cracked his knuckles before accepting the tea service from his daughter and giving her a kiss on the forehead. He poured Sarutobi and himself a cup, then set the pot on the sideboard. "I've set the board according to our last session, but be warned. I've served several bowls to certain Naras since we last met. Prepare to be humbled, oh mighty monkey. You haven't been by lately, surely you are not double-timing me with another diner!"

Sarutobi chuckled warmly. He and Teuchi went back a good twenty years; here, the great Fire Shadow could be an old man who liked to sit around and play shogi. "Perish the thought. Things have been busy of late, and you wouldn't believe my day if I told you."

"Then don't tell me. Instead, enjoy your humble pie!"

They played into the early morning, when the person of Sarutobi Hiruzen left the warm embrace of Ichiraku's Ramen Stand, donned his hat, and became the title of Third Hokage of Konohagakure for another long day.


	7. Reset

Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Kishimoto Masashi.

* * *

Ocelot had received the message that Anko would be pulled for the day for a promotional evaluation when she turned in their daily report to the Tower's Night Clerk, before making her way to Uzumaki's complex. Anko had returned about an hour after the Umino incident, which was fortunate given the anger radiating off the girl once she was briefed on the happenings.

Though Naruto had been cleaned up and treated at the scene, he had remained listless, displaying none of his earlier mannerisms. It wasn't as if his social skills had been set back by a day, but by years.

Unknown to the two ladies, part of sanguine nature was due to Kurama testing Naruto's mind for any damage or informational gaps of learned material. He also knew the boy tended to be like this after each tutor, especially now that he knew what that word meant.

Landing lightly on his floor, she silently moved to his recently replaced door to his 'apartment of record', sensed him inside and moving, and knocked softly twice, paused, then four times.

That was the signal they had devised yesterday afternoon: the number of door knocks depended on his nightly room number. It wasn't the greatest of codes by any means, but would serve their purposes.

Though barely after 05:00, he was dressed when he admitted her. Or rather, he unlocked the door, which she then opened herself to an empty room. She could sense him on the other side of the room divider.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun." said Ocelot, slipping off her mask and clipping it to her belt. She heard the rustle of his clothes as a single scared eye peeked at her.

"Anko-san won't be joining us today, but will probably be back with us tomorrow," she continued, pretending not to notice, nor showing how much his actions hurt her. "What would you like to start on today?"

The eye vanished, and she could hear him gathering things. She didn't move though, staying where she had crouched down in the barren kitchen. Ocelot didn't like having her back to the door, but what could she do?

All the progress made yesterday, gone. _'Damn that man!'_ she inwardly fumed, careful not to let the emotions show on her face.

Naruto returned, keeping an eye on the rolls of paper in his hands, the ones she had been using with Anko to teach her the basic storage seal. When he looked up and saw Ocelot patiently waiting right in front of him, he drew up short, though his balance was off. Arms pinwheeling, he sat heavily, then hastily scooted back a few feet.

The papers floated lazily down as she watched all this with a warm smile and open expression.

"Show letters?" He had a pencil fisted, pointing it at the papery mess.

"I think I can do that for you, Naruto-kun. Do you think Hokage-sama will send another tutor?" She noticed the sour look of distaste on his face.

"I hope not. Only thing they teach is pain. He was fiv, fifth one."

"You mean he was your fifth tutor and you've been taught nothing?"

"Pain lessons." He hadn't moved any closer, nor had he taken his eyes off of her, though he had yet to look into her eyes.

She shook her head. "I think I understand where you are coming from with that, with the more pain you experience, the more experienced you get at handling pain. But I don't think that counts as an actual tutoring lesson. I'm not a tutor though, I'm just a friend showing you letters."

"Friend? I don't understand."

"Yes, as a friend, someone you trust, someone you like just because of who they are inside. You wouldn't change or trade them for anything." She wasn't sure how else to explain the concept to the boy.

He blinked a few times, then nudged a piece of paper with an outstretched foot. "Show letters now?"

It was an awkward scene, the mood pensive. Ocelot, once she had demonstrated hand position, making sure Naruto was doing the same, had drawn out large letters, with stroke arrows showing the direction to make them.

She had to do this upside down and backwards, so that the nervous boy could see the various symbols from his own perspective.

"May I come closer, Naruto-kun? It would be easier for me to show hand positions." She waited while he made up his mind, then slowly moved to his side once he nodded.

He was shivering, the damage done by that man warring with his like of Ocelot.

"I'll be right here, Naruto-kun, where you can see me. Shall we make letters together?" She picked up two pencils, and began to write different symbols with either hand.

"Since you want to learn letters, and haven't done this before, why not try with both hands? This took me years to get down, but I wonder how long it would have taken if I had learned with both hands from the beginning, like you can."

His eyes had shifted from her chin to her hands, which was an improvement, heightened by the curiosity she could see growing. She could also see the frown of frustration starting, and was expecting it.

"Naruto-kun? Your grip is off, so, can I show you a better way? I'll have to get closer, so is that okay?" All the while, she kept her visage open and friendly. She never really expected to be doing this type of education, all while using the same skills to talk down building jumpers.

This nod came a bit slower, his head turning to watch her as she moved behind him, then brought her arms around his own. "It's like this, Naruto-kun," she said, as she shifted his attention back to his hands.

Her face was on his right, yet still her hair cascaded over his left shoulder. Naruto, breathing deeply of her scent, relaxed just a bit more, recalling this same scent from the wall running. He watched her larger hands...she had removed her gloves. Dusky skin traced his fingers, gently positioning his grip.

This was the first time he had seen her bare hands.

"We move like this, up, then over to the side with a bold stroke. This hand moves down in a squiggle. And then we switch so that the left makes the squiggle and the right makes the up-stroke and over."

It was then that she hugged him, feeling him go very still.

"I'm so sorry, Naruto-kun. I dropped him as soon as I knew what was going on, but you still got hurt. I'm so sorry."

Her face was right beside his own, turning his eyes into her mismatched blue and green ones.

"It. It fine. Show, uh, show letters?" He didn't try to move, nor did he look away.

Giving him another squeeze, her right hand cupped his own around the pencil. Her left hand rose up and tousled his hair, to no flinch, before gripping his other hand loosely.

"Yeah. First though, let's keep working on those strokes, okay?" Though not as emotive as he was yesterday afternoon, what they had now was far better than when she first arrived today.

It would have been so much easier with Genjutsu, at least over the short term, to soothe his nerves and instill trust. Long term assignments though, such as this one, needed a very personal touch.

They had been working on this lesson for a solid hour, Ocelot was still positioned behind Naruto's right side, with the boy gradually leaning into her. He stilled when she did.

"Naruto-kun, I need you to hide for me, okay?"

He shifted out of her loose embrace, standing awkwardly for a moment, before he gripped her left shoulder of his own accord.

"Thank you for letters, Ocelot-sensei." He then ducked into the side bathroom.

Her lips twitched slightly as she unscrewed the cap on her canteen. The water spiraled in the air, forming a Mizu-bunshin perched in the corner above and behind the door hinges, dual tantos in its hands for close quarters. By now, both of them were masked.

A few minutes later, someone began briskly knocking on the door.

"Come." Her left hand shifted to the Half Ram position by her chin, while her right loosened her ANBU blade in its scabbard across her back.

The knob slowly turned before the door was pushed open to reveal a rather messed up Iruka, carrying several bags. His face had been worked over, and there was bruising vanishing beneath his collar.

Ocelot was familiar with the phrase 'time with Ibiki', having been on the receiving end once for gross insubordination when she was younger and thought herself immortal, as some mint green genin do.

"I am surprised to see you here; please state your business."

"I, I am here as part of my probation for the injuries I caused, and have been ordered to continue the education of Uzumaki Naruto. I have brought breakfast of rice balls and pickles and have a canteen of tea. We shall eat before we begin the lesson afresh."

She called over her shoulder, her eyes not leaving the chuunin. "Naruto-kun? Can you come here please?"

Iruka saw the reason for his treatment exit a side room and move behind the crouched and masked ANBU, the same one from yesterday. He didn't move, not even a scowl; he could feel the ANBU's anger.

The thing whispered something to its guard after a hooded glance in his direction.

"Naruto-san has requested that you be escorted to the hospital for treatment, citing that you look worse the next morning than he normally does after a pain lesson and that the doctors there would most likely patch you up. He has opted to stay here since he is not really welcome there."

"You mean he's not welcome at the hospital?"

"I see you learned a new pronoun, Umino-san, and no, he's not exactly welcome. You will be okay by yourself here, Naruto-kun?" He nodded into her back. "We will return shortly."

He shifted to the left, behind the kitchen/living room dividing wall as she stood, motioning with her left hand for Iruka to leave first. Naruto waited a few minutes after the locked door closed before he moved back to the papers.

Glancing up at peripheral movement, he saw Ocelot by the door. He scuttled back behind the wall, not expecting her to be here.

"Ocelot left me behind to watch over you, Naruto-kun." She removed her mask, her tantos already in their sheaths in the small of her back, before stripping off her gloves. "Though I'm just a clone, would you like to continue the lesson?"

An anxious eye watched her. "A clone?"

"Yes, Naruto-kun, one made of water." The only motion she made was to crouch down with her back against the door.

"You don't smell like Ocelot-sensei." His tone was low.

"That's because I'm a clone, Naruto-kun. To have Ocelot's scent, I'd have to be wearing something of hers. I can stay right here if you want, where you can see me."

He slowly edged out from behind cover, moving back to his papers. Picking up a pencil in either hand, he tried to get the positioning right. After a moment, he glanced up at the Ocelot clone by the door. "Show grips again?"

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Once they were away from the complex and were moving towards the hospital, Ocelot asked, "Why did you show up looking like that? Angling for sympathy? It is both unbecoming and unprofessional."

"No, Ocelot-san, and you have every right to be angry with me. This was part of my probation, that unless Uzumaki-kun allowed treatment, I was to heal naturally, only to be treated for infection. I broke trust."

He didn't get to say anything else, as Ocelot spun, gripped him by his throat and flickered into an alley. She threw the man just as she exited the technique, sending him tumbling between piles of rubbish.

Before he even stopped moving, he was hauled up by his throat again and smacked into a brick wall. His feet left the ground and his hands instinctively wrapped around her wrist.

"You ruined so much work, you wretch. Strain your eyes upwards, worm."

He did so, seeing masks lining the alley from above.

"My comrades are there to make sure I don't kill you. If Hokage-sama hadn't sent you, we would not be having this conversation."

She pulled him away from the wall and released her grip on him. Before his feet even touched the ground, she had sent a chambered kick under his chin, breaking his jaw and sending him flying out of the alley.

She was there in an instant to haul him up by his hair. "On your feet, maggot. We still have a ways to go." In his bloody ear she hissed, "Please resist."

Iruka knew better than to do anything that stupid. As he got his feet under him, he simply nodded in understanding and hobbled to the hospital, cradling his broken arm. He had landed ungracefully.

Following him by a few paces, Ocelot continued in a more conversational tone. "Mitarashi-san will be back tomorrow. She taken quite a liking to young Uzumaki-kun, Umino-san. So if you have a doctor of choice, you might want to schedule ahead of time; I'm sure Anko will have much to discuss with you."

She let that sink in a moment. "And she's not nearly as nice as I am about things."

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Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, was different than the other major and minor shinobi villages. For starters, it was rather large and not at all hidden, as the outer defensive walls literally rose at least a hundred feet, if not more, _over_ the tallest tree in the verdant canopy. Though a light beige, it was spotless, austere, entirely intimidating, and very hard _not_ to notice.

Another thing was location. While the other shinobi villages took great measures to ensure their privacy and defensive positions, Kumogakure, or Hidden Cloud, even being built deep within a very treacherous glacial mountain range, Konoha was a little off center geographically, but well suited for easy access to all the major trade routes.

One other aspect was the civilian population: they were welcome. Konoha prided itself on its internal prosperity and class structure, welcoming civilians, craftsmen, tradesmen and merchants with open arms, and striving to find employment for everyone who so desired such. It wasn't an Utopian ideal by any standard, but it did make great strides to reducing poverty.

That's not to say there wasn't any poverty, but rather than it being a permanent blight, it was a temporary state, generally relegated to the newly arrived, refugees, and those citizens forced to start over for whatever reason. It was transitory.

Still, there were wards established in portions of the village for those people to find habitation before moving on to more agreeable environs. Even with Benevolence Hostels there were always jobs to be had by those willing, and with a large village population in excess of one hundred thousand, there were many businesses seeking helpers and apprentices for the service, craft and trade sectors, not to mention public safety and health.

Due largely in part to the Kyuubi incident, Konoha actually had _underemployment_, and probably would for several years to come.

Still, even if largely vacant, the village employed genin teams to service and maintain the wards, including recreation zones, under the watchful eyes of landscapers and building inspectors. This was for contingencies, should large scale damage occur within another section of the village or outside its walls to provide shelter and housing to the displaced. It was a good plan, a part of the Civilian Security Act and overall, it functioned smoothly enough to cause any overseer or Kage to smile.

Sarutobi was currently standing outside a small cluster of four buildings, thirty apartments per building, around a centrally located park. Yoshinibi stood behind and his the right, and he was definitely not smiling.

It was a little after 11:00, the morning spent reviewing reports, presiding over council meetings, and issuing new missions to his available shinobi force, and he could clearly see that this particular quad, part of a larger block of a neighborhood which comprised Ward 15, was in rather poor repair.

The park had been neglected for many years, the buildings which framed it had vacant windows, and an overall sense of emptiness permeated the area. It was as if this cluster of buildings had been set apart, pushed to the side, and forgotten, though not completely so judging by some of the more graphic and highly illegal graffiti scrawled on the exterior walls.

He made a mental note to get some Hunters out here to follow the scents back to whoever broke the Sandaime's Law regarding Naruto.

He felt anger and shame at what he was seeing, and cursed himself for never having walked here from this angle before. He had always Flickered to Naruto's location after a scouting orb verification, and while they might have walked to Ichiraku's together, it was in a different direction, and hid, rather well, the desolation and solitude.

Were it not for the most recent report from Anko and Ocelot, he seriously doubted he would have ever given this particular route and view a second thought, much less a first. There had never been any reported reason to even suspect that Naruto's life was this isolated, kept separate and ignored, punctuated with the occasional beating, correction, the occasional _reported_ beating. He was still finding misfiled reports, things that had never crossed his desk, documenting a history of abuses on multiple levels, from the physiological to the psychological.

"Hokage-sama, who is it that lives here, and why is it in this state? Not a street over the quads are maintained, and while not beautifully manicured, are pleasant and harmonious."

"That is a good question, Yoshinibi-san. Uzumaki Naruto lives here, in that building over there. According to the census reports, there should be ten other families here. In your folders are reports which show payment for completed maintenance on this particular ward as of two weeks ago. There seems to be issue with both statements. Come, we have a Ward of the State, an orphan from birth, to visit."

Startled by this information regarding the village pariah, she followed behind her Hokage. Though a civilian, she could feel his displeasure. She really hoped that she remembered to bring the tea he liked.

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Ocelot was showing Naruto how to hold a knife properly alongside the various ways to cut, slice, sliver and shave vegetables. Those were the overt actions. The covert ones were the introductions of tap codes and other silent languages, except for the restricted ones.

When she and Iruka had returned, the breakfast he had brought was gone, and his thermos emptied and rinsed. There hadn't even been a scent that they were still somewhere in the apartment.

Iruka had felt bothered by that, as if he was an enemy combatant. He knew his peace offering had been treated as a contaminated substance, but didn't know by whom. They had left Naruto alone, and he didn't get the sense that the skin-suit was responsible.

She glanced up, motioned for him to move besides her. "Hokage-sama comes."

Iruka, who had been looking over Naruto's paperwork, circling the letters and numbers made correctly, was surprised by her statement. He felt nothing for several minutes, until the party was approaching the apartment building.

"See to the door, Chuunin." The Jounin's tone was professional and cold, made even more-so by her ANBU mask.

Iruka awkwardly levered himself up, one of his arms in a temporary brace. Though the break was healed, muscles around it would be tender for a few days. He opened the door just as Sarutobi crested the stairs.

The Robes of State swishing around his feet, Sarutobi was bowed through the doorway, glancing up at the Mizu Bunshin on the ceiling. Inside the otherwise empty kitchen, Ocelot had take to a knee, Naruto following her lead at her side.

"Hokage-sama, greetings. I trust your walk was well?"

Iruka lost a bit of composure, jerking his head upwards to see the masked form of the agent a few feet to his side. He never knew she was up there. At least now he knew who was responsible for his offered breakfast disappearing.

"It was informative, clone-san. Continue your duty." His gaze rested briefly on Iruka and his brace, before turning to the others. His eyes softened considerably upon seeing Naruto. The boy was sending inquisitive looks to his guard.

_'I should have tapped her for this position years ago.'_

"Ji.." Naruto paused and took a pose that Sarutobi was familiar with, as the boy glanced askance at Iruka. The pose used the tightening of some muscle groups and the loosening of others to minimize hits or surface impacts. Ocelot, sensing this, lightly tapped his hand, the boy relaxing a bit.

_'Safe, Protect. Yes, she should have been his first tutor. So much time lost.'_ "At ease, everyone. This is mostly a social visit. I see you are looking well, Iruka-san."

"Hai, Hokage-sama, as per Uzumaki-kun's instruction. His brush work is satisfactory, especially after Ocelot-san demonstrated various handle grips. Penmanship will need a lot of work, but improvements are already noticeable, again thanks to Ocelot-san aiding Uzumaki-kun in finger positioning."

"There was a reason for you not demonstrating those?"

"I...I am working through issues, Hokage-sama. I did not think it prudent."

"At least you are honest, Iruka-san. There may be hope yet. Ocelot-san?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama. Naruto-kun has been learning how to prepare vegetables as I demonstrate basic culinary skills. If he continues his charming ways, it will not belong before he has a kitchen helper."

"One can always hope. If you would be so kind, assist Naruto onto the counter. I wish to speak eye-to-eye." Sarutobi had not yet been briefed on the new issues.

"Hokage-sama, there have been some complications and trust issues," she tipped her head towards Iruka, "since yesterday." Her fingers flickered, the code known only to Sarutobi inside that place.

_'Tutors from Hokage-sama break trust, Hokage-sama proxies.'_ He nodded to himself, then slowly knelt to the pops of his knees. Everyone's eyes were wide, with Yoshinibi slowly sinking down into a seiza, disbelief writ large on her face.

Sarutobi turned his face to Naruto's, seeing the boy look up. "I am have been thinking, Naruto-kun. Perhaps we can devise a system between the two of us. Know that you have my deepest respect for how you protect this village with every breath."

Iruka's eyes widened as the pen in his hand snapped. "When it is just you and me, please refer to me as Jijii. You remind me that I am me, not a title. When in the company of others, to reduce any possible contention, refer to me as Hokage-sama. Is that compromise agreeable?"

He could see that he had Naruto's complete attention, those blue eyes reminding him so strongly of the boy's father. "Can, um, Hokage-jijii?"

Sarutobi didn't miss the glance over his shoulder to the lightly choking Iruka, and could only imagine Yoshinibi's scandalized expression. "Hrm. How about this, and it will be our own little code: when it is you and I, along with people we know and trust, like Ocelot-san and Anko-san, you may call me Hokage-jijii.

"If there are people there you do not know, call me Hokage-sama; and if there are those who you do not trust, call me Hokage-sama and bow like this." Sarutobi gave Naruto a quarter bow at the waist with his left hand resting on his midriff, right around the navel. "Think you can remember that code?"

Naruto nodded gravely. He glanced over at Ocelot, before he turned back to Sarutobi. Taking a few steps forward, he place his small hand on the statesman's shoulder. "Thank you, Jijii." he whispered.

"Thank you for that, Naruto-kun. Despite the robes and hat, you still managed to remind me that I'm me. It is good to be appreciated, yes?"

He got a slight nod as the boy stepped back. "I will need to speak with Ocelot-san however. Will you be okay here?"

Naruto glanced up at the door corner and gave another brisk nod.

Stiffly, Sarutobi stood "Iruka-san, you are a bachelor, correct? Ah, good. Tend the pots. We will be back shortly. Yoshinibi-san, please attend. Ocelot-san, if you would follow."

Leaving a stunned Iruka, who suddenly found himself pulling kitchen patrol, Sarutobi ushered the two women into the bedroom, closed the door, and quickly put up a privacy seal.

"Explain yourself."

Yoshinibi was already kneeling, a pad and pen ready for notation, off to Sarutobi's side. Ocelot, however, had taken to both knees before the Hokage, and bowed forwards with her hands on the floor.

"I have become emotionally compromised, Hokage-sama. I can no longer be his primary."

"ANBU just can't be bullying and beating up the rest of my forces, Ocelot."

"Hai, Hokage-sama. But, when he said that he broke trust, when I had spent hours trying to fix what he broke, all I wanted to do was break him! Apologies, Hokage-sama, I lost my cool again."

She felt a hand upon her head. "A shinobi should not allow their emotions to dictate their actions, but having emotions which yearn to protect a child, that is not a bad thing. That said, Iruka's medical bills will come from your pay, understood?"

She nodded where she knelt, understanding the leniency being given. "You will also continue to be his primary. The boy needs someone to fight for him, and belatedly I realize that I should've given you this assignment from the beginning.

"Now then, on to other matters. Ocelot-san, I have read your report, but I was quite unprepared for the reality of his situation. How many are left in the quad?"

"One, Hokage-sama. Uzumaki Naruto. The last occupant, a long time resident, died about a month ago from what we can tell. The other buildings are vacant, though some show signs of some activity, none recent. It is possible that Naruto-san also uses those apartments in his sleeping rotation."

"Sleeping rotation?" Sarutobi had begun pacing, a habit which helped him think. Ocelot had not budged from her kneeling position.

"Hai, Hokage-sama. He uses a dart and calendar to determine which random apartment he will use for the night. It is entirely possible that he has a similar system for the other buildings."

"Clever. And what of the furnishings? Yoshinibi-san has several invoices for goods and furniture, and I know this apartment was once outfitted." His eyes took in the shabby conditions of the walls and ceiling.

"Gone, Hokage-sama. We only learned of this yesterday and duly reported the conditions. Anko-san and I can only surmise that such were either stolen or destroyed. I have taken the liberty of creating several simple storage seals both in here and in the bathroom for his clothing and personal hygiene supplies.

"I was also going to create a few in his kitchen to safeguard his food supply from tampering, which Anko purchased yesterday. According to Naruto, he mainly lives on water with the occasional ramen bowl."

Sarutobi started at that. "What? How is that possible? I have personally ensured that he had ready and available funds!"

"Indeed you have, Hokage-sama, as he showed both Anko-san and myself. But giving the boy all the money in the world won't help if none will sell to him. As far as we know, Ichiraku is the only business with an open door."

She paused as she sorted her thoughts. "I personally do not think that the entire market sector is against the boy, as all it would take is a few powerful people or groups to convince or threaten the rest into submission. Well, not so much what I think, but more of what I want to believe. This is purely my own opinion."

"I understand you, Ocelot-san. I too do not want to believe the entire sector could be against him, with the exception of Ichiraku. This will be investigated. Before we head back to the others, I wanted to clarify something Anko-san had mentioned in her part of the report. Something about property ownership?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama. Anko-san was thinking that with the landlords gone, the buildings empty, and nobody providing upkeep, this place had been forgotten or pushed aside. Since it was obvious that this quad would not be missed, why not put it under the Uzumaki name? At least then, if there could be found those willing, he could garner rental income to supplement his shinobi pay grade, once he joins the ranks.

"Plus, well, Anko being Anko, she thought it would also 'shake those old farts up' should Naruto-kun be accorded a council seat for commercial property ownership of a certain size, though she understood that even if he did qualify, he would need a representative until he reached Chuunin rank or his majority at eighteen."

"It is a sound plan. Let us rejoin the others. Yoshinibi-san?"

"Minutes recorded, Hokage-sama." With that, he unsealed the room and led them back to the kitchen.

"Ocelot-san, until lunch is ready, have Naruto-kun learn his signature and how to spell his name. Umino-san, you will assist and advise. Yoshinibi-san, make the tea, for I like your tea and will have your tea." She blushed at the praise. "I will tend to lunch. You have your orders."

After a lunch of dumpling stew with rice balls framed by celery and carrot spears, Yoshinibi opened her satchel and pulled out a folder, handing it to Sarutobi. Checking the contents, he then passed it to Ocelot, who nearly dropped it once she saw what was inside.

The Genjutsu she had placed on her face had stupefied Naruto and a curious Iruka. The food seemed to vanish when it touched her mask. "Hokage-sama! Is this, I mean, forgive the outburst."

"There is nothing to forgive, and it is. Anko-san had a very good idea. I want you to be his sponsor and will gather Anko's signature later today. Umino-san will sign as witness, Yoshinibi-san will sign as the government official and I, of course, will affix the official Hokage seal."

Ocelot immediately signed the deed, marked her signature and explained to Naruto what the document meant. "You mean, this is something they can't break? Thank you, um...Hokage-jijii!" With Ocelot's verbal assistance, he slowly and carefully signed his name and marked it, the pride glowing in his eyes.

When the document got to Iruka, upon reading it he almost fainted. The skin-suit would become the owner of four apartment buildings totaling one hundred and twenty units, and the park space between the four buildings, well over 100,000 square feet in commercial property space total. Iruka knew the approximate locations for the twenty wards, with Ward 15 being roughly a quarter of a mile from the geographic village center.

With this quad in private ownership instead of under bureaucratic management, it would be a prime location within easy distance to the bulk of the central markets, several civilian schools, two main library branches and one of the Shinobi Preparation Centers.

Seated in the presence of the Hokage, he had little choice but to do as commanded, and it was a command. He signed his name as witness, nicked his thumb, and left his mark as he sat on Naruto's empty kitchen floor.

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There was a knock at the office door before Yoshinibi poked her head around it. "Pardon the intrusion, Hokage-sama. There is a Mitarashi Anko here to see you."

"Send her in."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." She opened the door further, admitting Anko and closing it behind her.

"Anko-san, just the person I wanted to see."

Anko, who had entered with a highly vexed expression, now sported one of guarded confusion. She instantly began scouring her memories for anything recently done which might be frowned upon, aside from emptying the kitchen of apartment six of hardware and place settings the night prior. "Good evening, Hokage-sama. How might I serve?"

"You may relax, Anko, you are in no trouble. All I require of you is a signature."

"A signature, Hokage-sama?"

"Indeed, as the co-sponsor of Uzumaki Naruto who will soon own his own apartment, the apartment building, the park behind it, and the other three buildings around the park."

She went from the door to the desk, leaning heavily upon it, in a flash. "Really?! That is wonderful! Little brat has something they can't break or steal easily! Where do I sign?" She then realized how and where she was leaning, and quickly took a step back and straightened. "Apologies, Hokage-sama. I am happy for the little turd though."

"I rather noticed, Anko. If you would, sign on this line and leave your mark. That will finalize the deed. For once, I feel that I have finally done something right for the boy. Speaking of which, any injuries done to Umino will come out of your own pocket, understood?"

"Of course, Hokage-sama." He could tell she was counting how much cash she could afford to lose inside her mind.

"Of course. Now then, not that I don't mind seeing my shinobi, but what brings you here, Anko-san?"

Anko who had signed and left her mark, blushed deeply before she recomposed herself. She reached into her trench coat and pulled out an object, holding it up for display. "What is this? Ibiki had me going nuts, then he hands me this!"

What she held was roughly a square foot in size, constructed of treated leather. It had a soft point on one side, with the opposite side having a wide-mouthed spout, sealed firmly with a cork. "That, I believe, is a hot-water bottle, Anko-san."

"Hot. Water. Bottle." He could hear her teeth grind.

"Perhaps if you start at the beginning, you will save yourself a trip to the dentist. You may speak freely."

She scowled briefly, then began to recount her day. "Ibiki-san had me meet him at one of the orphanages this morning, and for the next three hours, the scarred scrotum had me bottle-feeding and diaper changing those little snots. It was very vile, Hokage-sama, and you should consider using them in the next conflict. The anal spewage and projectile vomiting alone would act was a wonderful deterrent.

"I really don't know what they've been fed, but it had a very nasty output. Three hours of that and I had to smile and couldn't lose my temper, or I'd be forced to do it again tomorrow. Just when I thought I could take no more, he pulls me aside, thanks the matrons, and has me go change.

"Then the bastard has me meet him at one of the Shinobi Centers, where I was to baby-sit thirty shrieking banshees until Ibiki-san got tired. I was there for five hours, and I had to smile, feed them, escort them to the toilet and could not lose my temper, or I would do it again tomorrow in addition to the morning shift at the Public Benevolence Hostel.

"Just when I'm about to rid the world of future fan-girls, Ibiki-san thanks the caretakers and pulls me off to another location clear across town.

"He leaves me there in the company of five very drunk retired shinobi, and I had to get directions from them to the next meeting point. Each one thought they were alone with me, so I soon had five drunken, shouting, groping retired shinobi from whom I had to receive directions.

"I had to keep their drinks coming, could not lose my temper, could not raise my own voice, nor could I hurt or otherwise incapacitate them or I would be back there tomorrow after pulling a morning feeding shift at the Hostel and a babysitting rotation at the Center.

"He gave this to me at the last meeting spot thirty minutes ago before vanishing on me. It's going on 18:00. It is becoming very difficult to contain the urge to cause grievous bodily harm to certain people."

Sarutobi had been seated, with his hands steepled to hide his knowing grin during Anko's retelling of events. "The hot water bottle is traditionally filled with boiling water and then placed on sore or aching muscles and joints. It can also be used as a bed warmer."

Sarutobi stood and came around the desk to face Anko. "The fact that he gave you one is his way of saying that you will need something to soothe your aching muscles very soon. Congratulations, Mitarashi Anko, apprentice to Morino Ibiki."

Anko stood silently, an unreadable expression on her face as she processed this information. She glanced down, then back up at the Hokage before her, and for a brief moment, acted her fifteen years as she pumped her fists and performed a sort of standing run before hugging the Hokage tightly. giving him a large wet kiss on his forehead.

"ThankYouThankYouThankYou! I'll give you the best damn massage you have ever experienced! _The _Morino Ibiki!" She gave an uncharacteristic fan-girlish squeal, and was gone in a flicker leaving a slightly stunned and very bemused Sarutobi alone in his office.

She kept her promise later that evening, with the assistance of Matron Ana and a small team of servants under Ana's direction. Through the judicious usage of steamed towels, incense, scented oils, E-rank Lightning techniques and Anko's very nimble and strong fingers, elbows and palms, the God of Shinobis, the vaunted Fire Shadow of Konoha, was turned into a very happy and limber man. It was indeed the best massage he had ever experienced.

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Naruto awoke in the forest, a soft smile on his face as he felt the embrace of his Safe Place. A week had passed, his vocabulary growing as his throat grew accustomed to speech.

**"You have done well, Naruto. You are well on your way now."**

"Thank you, Kurama-sensei. I did as you asked of me and looked through all of the lesson books which Tutor-sensei had brought over."

**"I see that you did, though I am certain you were confused. If you looked at a page, even if you could not read it, the page would still be in your memory for a short amount of time. That gave me enough time to copy those memories, which allowed me to do this."**

The fox sat back on his hind legs, supported in part by his tails, and brought his paws together. As he drew them apart, the workbook for practicing letters and lines was there resting in his paws. **"This is a visual memory. With this, should you create paper or a slate board, you can practice while your body outside sleeps."**

"So that means I can keep learning?" Kurama could feel the tug from his promise.

**"Indeed, kitling. I said that I will help you learn, and I will. With the books you looked through, it will make it easier for both of us."**

"So, I can do this with any book, Kurama-sensei?"

**"Or scroll, and I don't see why not. I would recommend that you let me know beforehand so that I can watch for those memories. Once your literacy improves, you will find that something read will last longer in your mind, some things staying with you for the entire span of your life.**

**"Other things, especially when first learning a skill or technique, will only stay in your memory for a short while. Humans call this 'short term memory'. With a little bit of warning, I can capture those memories for later study, once your own mind had already forgotten. Now then, let us continue."**


	8. Schism

Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Kishimoto Masashi.

* * *

Kurama watched as his master, host and student flexed his mind. It had been a month since their initial reading lesson, and the boy had flourished. Granted, Kurama recommended that Naruto tweak time just a bit, such as he did when that fool of a monkey paid a visit.

In a month's time, they had managed to cram in two years' worth of lessons, every single night and during meditative times. Naruto was literate, though not widely read, and could write fluidly. It had taken several 'months' before the boy shifted from technically precise copies into his own personal style.

Kurama had even resorted to creating books and scrolls of things Kurama himself had read to keep the boy in material, or Kurama would resort to verbal histories, stories and lessons. The perfect teacher, he gave praise and corrected gently, showing how something was done instead of just explaining it. Given the promises he made, and the seal upon his brow, he had no other choice. The result was breathtaking in the crispness, clarity and sheer vitality of Naruto's mental forest.

Naruto's imagination was something else that Kurama was sure to hone and use. It wasn't often that one could read a story and see it played out before an audience at the same time. So Kurama was the witness to huge dogs chasing bright yellow balls, mystic warriors flipping through impressive though impossible maneuvers, and even the mythic dragon battles from when the world was created as Naruto would read those stories, legends and myths. The boy was growing in quite unexpected ways.

Although several major kinks had been tossed into Kurama's plans, he was anything if not patient, patience borne from thousands of years of existence. He could afford to be patient here, as Naruto needed time to bolster his mind, spirit and body. When the boy grew stronger and more capable, so too would Kurama's security and vitality. It was a necessary thing, for more than one reason.

He could still recall those dulled blue eyes, impassive as the child gripped his neck and legs, and tried to pull him apart.

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Iruka was a conflicted man. He had the soul of a teacher, yet did not want to teach a child and was forced to do just that. Fine, okay, he could adapt and overcome. So he began to teach the boy the pure basics once it was discovered that the child in question was almost completely illiterate.

He began to notice the changes almost immediately from the sudden grasping of mechanics, the changes of hand positioning from one day to another, and the subtle shifting in choice of spoken words. Within a week, Iruka knew he was either dealing with an unexpected prodigy of the highest caliber or a third party instructor of infinite patience.

What made his skin prickle was the knowledge of who that instructor must be, and what else the boy might be taught within the secret confines of his mind. During this time, Iruka had shifted away from calling the boy a skin-suit, finally realizing that Kyuubi had not taken over the body.

Hokage-sama, however, didn't see Naruto as a threat, although if Iruka looked at things a little bit sideways, perhaps there was a hidden threat. Teach the boy, make him loyal, or something else might gain such instead. Iruka could see the sense there, and could also see why imprisonment or confined banishment would fail as well: there would be none to monitor what the child was taught from the enemy inside.

There was something else that had happened later that August, a rather new experience for Iruka which further caused internal conflict. He was the victim of discrimination, which in turn led him to feel unwanted empathy towards the Kyuubi's keeper.

It began simple enough; he went to one of the Public Library branches to check out some children's and teen adventure stories and a few almanacs for the main elemental nations. For the life of him, despite his Hunter training, could not find a single worker, helper or librarian in the entire building. This happened in two other branches before he descended upon the main library where he discovery that his account had been suspended.

His library card was no longer valid, but could be renewed in November, which Iruka knew would be the end of his probation. If he had a problem with this policy, he could bring it before the Civilian Council, as they had jurisdiction, on the next Public Grievance Hearings date, also in November.

Gritting his teeth in frustration and appalled at how Naruto's stink had stuck to him, Iruka then went to the main Shinobi library where again he found his leasing permit to have been temporarily revoked as a security concern. The tale he was told was that someone impersonating Iruka had checked out some materials and never returned them, and since they knew Iruka would never do something like that, then someone must've stolen his identity. The revocation was for his own safety and security, but they were sure to have it all sorted out by November.

This time, it _was_ a Shinobi matter, so he scheduled an appointment with the Hokage, was admitted rather quickly, and related to Hokage-sama his plight. The Hokage had Iruka wait there and Flickered away, returning some five minutes later with an apologetic look on his face.

"I am sorry, Iruka-san, but there is little to be done. They do have valid concern, and even if such were falsehoods, I could not replace everyone. It takes many years to train up a good librarian, one who knows where everything is and can find anything with the walls quickly. But I have every confidence in your abilities. That was one of the reasons for my originally giving you this mission. Improvise, adapt and overcome. I look forward to your progress report."

So it was that Iruka became conflicted. Since Naruto was due to enter the Academy in November, it would not do to obtain the classroom texts, as that would be unfair to the other students. Not being able to lease books or scrolls, and quite unwilling to spend his own cash for such to teach the boy, Iruka resorted to oral tradition and told Naruto stories.

He was not privy to the irony that Naruto's hidden instructor, Kurama, had also resorted to this same method.

It was towards the end of August when Iruka touched upon his younger years and some of his exploits and pranks. Naruto, who had been duly writing everything down in a flowing script from across the room, suddenly looked up with interest.

This was the first time the boy had physically looked at him. Under that intensely focused attention, Iruka told of his attention-seeking years. Copies of a masked ANBU added to his discomfort; since that first day, he had not been left alone with the child.

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It was during September that Naruto's focus shifted to practical skills, provided by a willing Ocelot, hyperactive Anko and reluctant Iruka. Iruka was reluctant both from his base feelings for the child, which hadn't really improved, and the fact that he had been outmaneuvered by the little bastard's glib tongue.

"Iruka-sensei, do you think you could teach me something new? I've demonstrated I can write rather well, my speech has improved alongside my vocabulary, and as for reading, well, we both know I'm not allowed in those places, and now you're not allowed either. I can empathize with your plight, Iruka-sensei; trust me when I say that I know the feeling of being slighted rather well."

"That's not the point, Naruto-kun. I was instructed to teach you only literacy: reading, writing and speech."

"Ah, yes, I remember that too. Granted, that was before your visit with Ibiki-san, where upon you were charged to _teach_ me. Teaching is more than the written word, Iruka-sensei. Am I not a willing student?"

"No, Naruto-kun, you are a willing student, one which has been full of surprises."

"So you will teach me other skills then, yes Iruka-sensei? Education _is_ a life-long path, after all, for what don't learn don't live, what don't live can't breathe, and what can't breathe dies. You don't want me to die from asphyxiation, do you Iruka-sensei? That is a terrible way to die."

He noted Iruka's hesitancy to answer the question with an internal grin, full of teeth. "I'll take your silence as a 'yes, that is a terrible way to die'. Besides, Iruka-sensei, just think of how this will look on your report in a few weeks. Hokage-sama will be most pleased."

Naruto was essentially right, which was rather galling, for back when it was still a mission, Iruka was to simply teach the boy how to read and write. Afterwards, as a probationary task, it was to educate, a much broader term with many definitions, one of which the blond snot latched onto and refused to relinquish.

He wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not that Naruto had began conversing with him. The boy was the only one there who would, outside of orders from the ANBU. He was not allowed to call her Ocelot. Anko, though engaging with Naruto, would sniff at him and plainly state that she didn't associate with child beaters.

Added to this was the silent pressure from the others. Here, he was the outsider, as there had been times he had heard them all talking, only to go silent when he approached the apartment. Once inside, there would be ANBU, and sometimes a silent Anko, with a still Naruto, all watching him.

So, to fill out his probationary time, and to pad his reports a bit, Iruka introduced life skills and control exercises. Given the boy's massive reserves, even at this young age, any improvement in chakra control under his tutelage would look golden.

He needed to look golden, given his opening mishandling of events. That had set the tone, and Iruka had started dreading his daily walk here. He was not to be trusted.

A case in point had been when Hokage-sama, through an intermediary, had delivered appropriate furnishings for Naruto's small apartment, so at least he would have at least the basics and in perfect repair. Iruka, while arriving that day, had gotten that information only from the delivery personnel and Genin teams which had been involved.

Naruto, knowing full well what would happen in October, had taken the added step of studying the storage seals which Ocelot and Anko had created. Using his learned calligraphy and penmanship skills, not to mention his growing intellect, he taught himself how to make one.

This, in turn, led to a series of small storage seals throughout his apartment, into which his furniture and appliances would be sealed when he was elsewhere. An added precaution was an extra futon sealed within a storage scroll for his nightly room change, which he kept on him at all times.

Iruka didn't know about the boy's paranoia, but by the time he had arrived, nothing was visible. He had assumed, wrongfully, that ANBU-san was responsible for hiding everything. While Ocelot had been there, it was more in a supervisory role to ensure Naruto did not make any mistakes. That all said, when he asked about the delivery, he was simply told it was safe.

Even the state of the boy's furnishings had become a need-to-know item, and he was not on the entrusted list.

The only time ANBU-san and Anko had included him in anything, was when Iruka, coming from a nautical family background, touched on the topic of knots. When Iruka demonstrated intermediate to advanced knots, he was surprised at how easily Naruto understood the basic forms they were built upon. Added to this were some fishing and mooring knots which Anko had not known.

As repayment, the mercurial teen taught him two one-hand seals. ANBU-san had known a further three, allowing Iruka to sit in on the lesson as they all taught Naruto. Though an esoteric skill, Anko had been insistent so that she would not owe him anything.

When his daily three hours were up, the boy would politely thank him. Iruka didn't always leave though, sometimes lingering at the edge of the property, or watching from a distance.

The control exercises he taught, he would witness being used. Naruto would run around the exterior of one of the buildings, on its wall. Anko would sometimes play with him, as they tossed leather balls at each other. ANBU-san would dance with him while Anko tapped out a rhythm.

Sometimes, he would hear braying laughter from Anko, followed by the boy. It seemed she was teaching him to laugh in the most obnoxious of ways. These things, however, were only when Iruka was not there.

In this abandoned and forgotten quad, he was the interloper. It was hard not to feel some resentment, but there really wasn't much he could do about it. He'd just have to suck it up until November.

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It was the second week of October, and Naruto had been understandably nervous. He knew when his birthday was, and knew that day had never ever been kind to him. So he was rather surprised when Ocelot and Anko met him on the eve of his birthday, the morning of the ninth.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun."

"Good morning as well, Ocelot-san and Anko-san."

"Hey there brat. Come, we have some surprises for you, but first, how about we treat you to an all-you-can-choke-down ramen fest?" Anko grinned broadly as she crouched down to his eye-level.

"Hey, Ocelot-san, check it out. Naruto, stand next to your height mark we made the first day." Naruto eyed the mark on the door-jamb. It didn't seem as high as it used to be.

"Ah, that is good news. Hold still, Naruto, so we can mark your new height. It looks like you've grown a few inches. Be sure to thank Kurama-sama for helping your body use the meals we've taught you."

Though she had no real love for the kitsune lord, she wasn't sure if it could hear through Naruto or not. Ocelot was a sensible soul though, and figured respect would go further than insults.

His smile was slight as he nodded, but they could see the warmth. They waited patiently as he quickly ran through his apartment making everything vanish into hidden seals. They understood full well this particular ritual of his.

"It's a good thing the clothing you picked for him was on the long side. If this keeps up, he'll probably need another measure after the new term starts." Ocelot nodded, watching as Naruto finished securing his possessions. Once he was finished, he locked up and took their hands, of his own accord, as they walked towards Ichiraku's.

"After we do this, we'll be heading to the Hokage's estate for the weekend, Naruto-kun. You have been cordially invited and are expected there by 15:00. This should give you plenty of time to enjoy your ramen without rushing. Tutor-san has been given the weekend off as well, so that he might enjoy the Festival should he choose to attend."

They reached Ichiraku's in good time through very light traffic, it still being fairly early in the morning. Instead of heading to the front, Ocelot led the party into the alley and through the shop's backdoor. Naruto was seated at the break table with Ocelot at his side, while Anko moved to the front stools.

It was Ayame who really made Naruto's morning, as sporting a rosy blush, she offered him his very own ramen bowl, crafted by both Teuchi and his daughter to their Number One customer. With a glance at Ocelot, who nodded, he bowed deeply to the family. He was surprised when a heavy hand fell on his shoulder, and pulled him brusquely into a hug.

This was joined a moment later by Ayame. "Happy birthday, Naruto-kun," began Teuchi. "You haven't been around lately. Have you been two-timing me with another diner?" His gravelly voice, tinted with humor, vibrated through the boy's body, scent thick with spices.

Shifting a bit, his arms slowly wrapped around the both of them. "My apologies, Teuchi-san. We've been keeping young Naruto busy with his studies and life skills." There was a small hiccup, and the embrace tightened. "Naruto-kun thanks you for your care, concern, and gift."

Over the boy's head, Teuchi gave Ocelot a warm smile, and nodded. Ayame, having felt the growing boy's mane, disengaged herself and dashed upstairs. She returned after a moment with a hairbrush, taking Naruto's shoulder and guiding him towards a chair.

To her eyes, given she hadn't seen the boy in months, his hair had exploded in length. It, like the rest of his body, had grown with the improved diet and tenant assistance. He stiffened as the brush made its first pass; by the fifth, he had begun to lean back into the older girl.

Teuchi let them be, as brushing Ayame's hair out had always calmed the child when she was upset. He served Anko first to give the boy more time to collect himself.

Anko enjoyed a bowl at the counter before unsealing several helpings of dango she had stored earlier that morning. She knew there wouldn't be many out this early, it being a little after 06:00, but she expected a few more than the empty plaza around them. It was quiet, like a blanket had been draped over the area. She couldn't feel any external chakra though, nor did anything seem out of place. Several discreet dispersals did nothing.

She caught Ocelot's eye just as six people dropped from the surrounding rooftops, three on either side of the stand. Two from each group grabbed the third as they landed, using the stored energy from the drop to hurl their companions towards the counter, following in their wake.

Teuchi, who had been refilling Anko's tea was shoved back towards the kitchen by Anko as she hollered, "Ambush!" Smashing her fist on the counter, her empty dango skewers danced, before they were flicked in both directions along the counter top.

The bodies hit awkwardly, sliding down its short length before coming to a rest. Anko was already in motion as she hopped onto the stool with her hands, performing a tight helicopter kick; her flicked skewers, lodged in eyes, exited the backs of skulls.

Scissoring her strong legs around one of their necks, she hunched and twisted in her handstand, flipping the corpse around to serve as shield against a sudden rain of senbon needles.

In that span, Ocelot had grabbed a stunned Naruto with one hand, opened the backdoor with her other, then spun on her heel out of the doorway. She hit the alley at a run, Naruto hugged against her chest to protect him from rear attacks. She leapt out of the alley's mouth in a series of one-handed round-offs, dodging the hail of kunai from two of the attackers from the right. There was a scream from inside the shop, but Ocelot had to keep moving. Naruto's safety was paramount.

Inside the shop, the two from the left charged, with one splitting off at the last moment to slide across the counter, where he grabbed the other dead man, and hurled him back towards Anko. That done, he turned into a large mass of boiling water and airborne noodles, substituting with a mop to avoid the massive burns which would have ensued. With a cruel smile, twin kunais were whipped upwards out of his pouch and sent speeding into the chef's back before he turned and dashed out into the alleyway.

Ayame screamed as she saw her father fall and performed a running tackle to knock him just a little off course from the steaming mess on the kitchen floor. The noodles and water themselves had mostly cleared the counter.

Anko had shifted her meatshield around to block the other corpse. Picking up a dango-filled skewer with her toes, it was sent with unerring accuracy into her opponent's eye as she flipped out of her handstand. Staggering from the blooming pain, he dropped his kunai, barely registering when he was grabbed and spun into boiling broth.

The scream had barely left his throat before Anko sent her Hidden Snake Hands to his crotch. Kicking his dropped kunai up, she planted it up to its grip in his forehead.

As she hopped the counter, the scent of boiled flesh fresh in her nostrils, she yelled out to the shocked Ayame, "Hit the damn Panic Button! I'll help Teuchi-sama, you hit that fucking button until your fingers bleed! Do it!"

In the street, Ocelot ended her flip onto the side of a building in a crouch, sped towards the ground to avoid thrown kunais. She had almost landed when she heard "Detonate!" Her world went white, curled protectively around Naruto.

Within moments they could see again, Naruto gazing up at Ocelot from the ground. He saw her smile, her mask having been knocked away from the flash-tag explosions, and then grimace as he saw the silvery sliver of steel slide through her chest. She hunched forward and slapped both hands along the flat and back of her ANBU sword as it was pushed through her in an attempt to impale them both. She prevented them from pulling it out and then shifted to the side to protect Naruto.

"I'm so sorry, Naruto-kun...please...for..."

The air became heavy, oppressive, pushing on the three men who had moved back to regroup and to clear the way for jutsu usage as a sound split the air. It keened, waned, then waxed heavy, the young voice splitting and cracking from the strain, hoarsely giving voice to grief, anguish and misery. The sound wound up, high and broken, staining the early morning air in shades of personal loss.

As one, they began their jutsu chain, having practiced extensively. Only a demon could make that sound, themselves forgetting that they too had once made such a noise, back when they first felt loss. They had simply never given it voice, keeping their howls of grief inside.

The terrible sound ceased, followed by a raging grunt at Naruto's left hand came up, twisting in to a seal. His right hand rose up in an open claw,

::Behind the men, columns of liquid but dry dirt formed out of the roadway, topped by a three-fingered 'claw'.::

clenched his fist tightly,

::The serpentine columns curved gracefully over the heads of the men as the clawed ends wrapped around their heads.::

and yanked his right hand downwards.

::The columns retracted into the ground so fast that the bodies of the men were flipped backwards, spines bent and popping from the strain. Then, as if a string was cut, the bodies dropped to the ground. Blood sprayed from the headless men, lessening as the hearts slowed.::

There was silence, except for Ayame's cries from inside the stand. And then there was a flopping sound, as it began to rain sandals. Naruto didn't have eyes for any of that though. All he could see was Ocelot, smiling at him.

Moving mechanically, he picked up her mask, wincing slightly at his mangled left hand. With reverence, he knelt by her side and positioned the mask to cover her face. "It is a reminder," he heard in his mind, Ocelot's voice so strong. He sat there, watching her mask.

That is how Sarutobi found him once he arrived not a few moments later, having been in motion since the first Panic light went off in his office. Naruto was simply sitting there, staring at Ocelot as he rocked back and forth.

It would take several hours to find the heads, or what was left of them. The holes they had been pulled through were easy to find. The only intact skull was found at a depth of two meters. Fresh fragments went deeper.

Whatever had caused this was either a new technique, or one which Sarutobi had not learned during his long and studious life. Given that the only one alive out here on their arrival had been Naruto, that narrowed the field considerably. As it stood though, his eyes were open, but he was otherwise unresponsive.

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Kurama had been enjoying a nap, keeping tabs on the 'outside' world with half an eye, when he first heard Naruto's anguish. Within half a breath, he was experiencing it as massive trunks exploded in shrapnel, driven by super heated sap and steam, sending hundred of feet worth of massive timber tumbling down from on high.

Massive rifts formed as solid stone spikes shafted up from the depths, belching forth poisonous gasses as the spikes and columns smashed into each other in a shower of sparks and ricocheting slivers, sent scything into the undergrowth. Gouts of steam rose in muddy clouds, obscuring the many flower fields, now filled with ruin. Massive root bulbs were torn out of the ground as earthquakes toppled other trees, sending them into each other in a cacophonous chain-reaction.

Through all this, dodging debris and the errant lightning strike, already responsible for a sizable fire off to the west, was Kurama. This was the system shock he had been dreading, since as the mind created, so could it too destroy, and there would be Kurama, right smack in the middle of it all, prevented from getting any larger. If he were his normal three hundred foot height, he might have been a bit inconvenienced. He could have not only ridden this out, but possibly profiting from the mental chaos.

Stuck in the size of a year old fox kit, however, removed most of those luxuries, so it was up to Kurama to save his own pelt until such time as Naruto's mind settled down. Only then he could take stock of his surroundings, see how bad the damage was, and move from there.

He still couldn't move directly against the boy, thanks to that infernal oath seal, but he might be able to move obliquely. Time would tell, but first Kurama had to survive that long in a rather inhospitable environment.

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Naruto would remain unresponsive through November, watched over and tended by Matron Ana and her crew at the Hokage's estate. Though he was signed up for the Academy and scheduled to attend on November 1, he would miss the first term.

His absence would not prevent his name from being entered in the twice yearly Genin Exam, held every May 1 and November 1. Uzumaki Naruto gained his first Fail rating, even before he ever attended a class. This deception would be lost in paperwork for several years.


End file.
